Locals Served on Blago Jury

Of the 12 men and women that made up the jury that ultimately found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty June 27, two of them were from neighboring communities.

The  on 17 of 20 counts of corruption, including the charge of attempting to sell President Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. 

A retired church music director and Naperville resident led the jury. Another woman from Tinley Park, meanwhile, said it was her first time being called for jury duty.

From Naperville Patch...

During interviews with news media after the verdict was read the forewoman, known as Juror 146, said she felt the jury’s verdict was just, according to stories in the Daily Herald and ABC7 News.

"We were thorough and detailed in examining all the evidence in all 20 counts. Throughout the process we were very respectful of each others' views and opinions," said Juror 146 in a story on ABC7 News.

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From Plainfield Patch...

Rod Blagojevich is a charming guy, and when he tries to explain that what he did was not illegal, you want to believe him, Tracy Courtney-Johnson said.

But then you listen to the taped recordings of the former Illinois governor wheeling and dealing, and a different Rod Blagojevich emerges, said Courtney-Johnson, a Plainfield resident and a member of the federal jury that convicted the Chicago Democrat of 17 of 20 public corruption charges this week.

“(Deciding) some of the counts were easier than others,” she said. “Selling the Senate seat, for example, that was a little easier.

“There were times when you felt bad for him. But a lot of people put their trust in him to make the right decisions, and he hurt a lot of people.”

Courtney-Johnson, one of 18 people chosen for the jury in April, said she suspected she would be selected when she acknowledged she hadn’t paid much attention to Blagojevich’s first trial and that she hadn’t lived in Illinois for all of his first term and part of his second, she said.

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From Tinley Park Patch...

To Karen Wojcieszak, it was clear pretty pretty early on in the  that he had "manipulated the situation."

"He was so arrogant," said the 64-year-old  resident. "Some of it was very black and white, where you could see he was quite guilty. … Other things, we had to kind of work through as a group."

Wojcieszak said Tuesday that a turning point in the trial came on a melancholy, relatively boring day of testimony when a prosecuting lawyer asked Blagojevich, "is it true you're a convicted liar?"

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