Former Illinois governor found guilty on one of 24 charges
After three weeks of tense deliberations, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was mostly vindicated because a jury in his federal corruption trial was one vote short of convicting him of attempting to sell a U.S. Senate seat. Though 11 jurors were ready to convict Blagojevich, a lone juror held out on and would only agree that Blagojevich lied to the FBI. The jury, which deliberated for 14 days, ended up hung on the other 23 counts against him and handed out a guilty verdict on the least serious charge. Prosecutors said they will meet next week to decide their next move and may retry Blagojevich. Following the trial, Blagojevich told reporters: “What the jury decided today was that I didn’t let the people of Illinois down.” As he walked by, supporters cheered and screamed, “We love you!”