Bringing down a governor or another high-profile defendant is one of those career-defining moments for prosecutors and usually hastens their exit from public service. So it goes for Reid Schar. Schar, the lead prosecutor in both corruption trials of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, will be leaving the U.S. attorney's office after 12 years, said three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
In a rare policy address at Elmhurst College, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan talked about the seven governors he has served with over the past four decades. Madigan barely mentioned Gov. Pat Quinn, saying only that his relatioship with the current governor is “better than it was.” Madigan was effusive in his praise for former Republican Gov. George Ryan, calling him “very flexible, very interested in just identifying problems and fashioning solutions.”
A federal judge denied a retrial Tuesday for longtime Illinois powerbroker William Cellini, rejecting arguments that he didn’t get a fair trial because a juror lied about her criminal past during jury selection.
The new year is likely to be anything but a happy one for Rod Blagojevich. But the prison-bound former governor has posted a message via his Twitter account and Facebook page wishing any supporters a happy 2012.
Rod Blagojevich's defense attorneys have officially taken the first step toward an appeal of the former governor's conviction on 18 corruption counts.
