Blagojevich to be retried in January

Artwork+by+Sophia+Blank

Artwork by Sophia Blank

By: Rachael Clinton, Editor

Last month, a jury deadlocked on 23 of the 24 charges against former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who had been accused of scheming to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat and pressuring organizations for campaign donations, among other things.

Blagojevich was convicted for lying to the FBI on Aug. 17, but jurors were unable to agree on the more serious charges. Blagojevich has continued to deny any wrongdoing.

Sophomore Lexee Guerra said she believes Blagojevich lost people’s trust and “more than likely won’t ever get it back.”

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald plans to retry the former governor in January. Fitzgerald, who led the federal investigation, wiretapped Blagojevich and obtained the infamous tapes where the governor appears to attempt to sell Obama’s Senate seat, saying on the tapes, “I’ve got this thing, and it’s [bleeping] golden.”

The trial, which has already cost $3 million, is expected to cost taxpayers an additional $10 million.

“It irritates me to no end [that the trial is taxpayer-funded]. I have not read a good justification for it,” social studies teacher Lynn McHenry said.