Rod Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, was found guilty Monday on 17 out of 20 corruption allegations. This is the 2nd time Blagojevich has been tried on the accusations. If the highest possible sentence is imposed, Blagojevich could deal with three hundred years in prison. Resource for this article - Blagojevich is convicted on 17 corruption charges by Newsytype.com.

Well known for selling a Senate seat

Illinois had 54 year old Blagojevich as a Democratic governor. It was from 2003 to 2009 that this happened. As a leader, even in the past news of his corruption investigation broke, he had historically low approval ratings. At one point, he got a ranking from the Rasmussen States. He was said to be the least popular in the nation as governor.

On December 9, 2008, he was arrested for federal corruption allegations. The charges include attempted extortion, bribery and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Most notoriously, Blagojevich was accused of allegedly attempting to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.

On Jan 9, 2009, "Blago" was removed from office after being impeached. His first case ended in a deadlocked jury on all but one conviction of lying to the FBI.

Legal battle for a few years

Blagojevich was fighting his legal battles for 2 1/2 years. There are many Television news and talk shows that he has appeared on. He talks all about how innocent he is. FBI wiretaps found a lot of incriminating evidence. Blagojevich was just thinking out loud though, his defense team states. His often profane remarks have been much parodied by the media.

Seventeen of 20 counts were guilty

After nine days of deliberation, Blagojevich was convicted by a jury of 11 females and one man. He was not found guilty of the entire charges. He was only found guilty of 17 of the 20. Two counts of attempted extortion including a school where he was making an effort to get funds and one with Illinois Tollway weren't agreed upon. He was not guilty of another thing involving the Illinois Tollway. This occasion it was a bribery charge.

When the verdict was read, Blagojevich's wife, Patti, supposedly cried. Blagojevich was heard to ask his lawyer, Sydney Sorofsky, "What happened?"

Governors in the past found guilty

With regards to Illinois governors, Blagojevich is the fourth to commit serious crimes and get caught. George Ryan (R), who served from 1999 to 2003, was found guilty on 18 counts, including racketeering. From 1873 to 1977, Dan Walker (D) was governor. He was guilty of accusations for instance financial institution fraud. Bribery was what got Otto Kerner (D) who was governor from 1961 to 1968.

Information from

Forbes

forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/06/27/general-us-blagojevich-trial_8537530.html

Naperville Sun

napervillesun.suntimes.com/6205668-417/blagojevich-joins-3-past-illinois-governors-convicted-of-crimes.html

CBS

cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20074769-504083.html