Redstate

The most avidly watched, but hardly mentioned, trial of this year.

By Moe Lane Posted in Blagojevich | Illinois Combine | Law | Tony Rezko — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

The baby just woke up, so let me make this quick. Via Instapundit:

Antoin 'Tony' Rezko's fate now lies with the jury
Prosecutors, defense wrap up closing arguments

By Jeff Coen and Bob Secter | Tribune reporters

The federal corruption trial that has sent ripples through the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich has reached its final stage, and the fate of political insider Antoin "Tony" Rezko is now in the hands of the jury.

The panel that spent more than two months listening to testimony deliberated for about half an hour Tuesday afternoon after closing arguments ended.

If they bring back a guilty verdict, I'll be shocked if it goes to sentencing. Rezko will want to make a deal, and he knows the magic word: "Blagojevich." It's considered impolite to say by many, but everybody reading this knows that Illinois State politics is one happy bipartisan mess of corruption, influence-peddling, bribery, and a wide variety of other activities prosecutable under the RICO Act. It may be too much to hope that flipping Rezko will result in the kind of housecleaning that Jindal is trying down in Louisiana, but at least the cockroaches will scurry - with any luck, some of them out of the USA altogether.