Dan Rutherford

The corruption convictions of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's friend, top adviser and fundraiser dealt a fresh blow to a beleaguered administration Wednesday, weakening the governor's ability to lead and further undermining the credibility of a politician elected on a pledge of reform.

Antoin "Tony" Rezko's conviction bolstered federal efforts to delve deeper in myriad investigations into Blagojevich, his family and key members of his political team on pay-to-play allegations involving contracts, jobs and fundraising.

Just hours after the federal jury's verdict, Blagojevich said that he still considered Rezko "a friend" for whom he felt "deeply sad," but that he respected the jury's decision. He then quickly tried to downplay the verdict as a distraction from the problems of Illinois taxpayers that he needed to address.

"I will continue to get up every single day to work as hard as I possibly can for the people, starting tomorrow, where I hope to meet with the legislative leaders so that we can balance the budget in a way that's fair and helps people, and to pass a capital construction program that will stimulate our economy and create more than 500,000 jobs," Blagojevich said, reading from a prepared statement for less than a minute.

After Blagojevich stepped from a podium at the Thompson Center in Chicago, reporters shouted questions about Rezko, causing him to stop momentarily.

"I have a $2 billion budget deficit on my desk," the governor said. "I gotta get back to work." He then stepped back into his private offices.

But legislators wondered how Blagojevich could accomplish the work he said he's going to do.

Rep. Susan Mendoza (D-Chicago), who once was a Blagojevich supporter, said the testimony made her question whether the governor was involved in any of the schemes.

"It makes me uncomfortable being in the same room trying to negotiate anything," Mendoza said. "I don't even feel comfortable having a conversation with governor at this point."

State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D- Evanston) also questioned the governor's ability to do his job.

"The weeks ahead may provide greater personal challenges for the governor, challenges that may be a formidable distraction to his ability to effectively lead our state during difficult times," Schoenberg said.

One Blagojevich insider said privately that the governor had been preparing for a Rezko guilty verdict for the last several weeks and that the jury's actions threaten Blagojevich's short-term political agenda and his longer-term authority.

Although Blagojevich might try to separate himself from Rezko and express disappointment at those who use the system for illegal gain, the insider said, it "would be very hard" for the governor to distance himself from Rezko's influential role within the administration.

For the short term, the Rezko verdict could give impetus to powerful Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan's attempts to block a $33 billion state construction program over concerns that Blagojevich cannot be trusted to dole out projects.

Some lawmakers, sensing their political fate can no longer be tied to that of the governor, worked to distance themselves Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson (D- Crete), has found her bid for a southwest suburban congressional seat under attack by Republicans trying to link her to Blagojevich's problems. On Wednesday, Halvorson told reporters the Rezko verdict won't hurt Blagojevich's relations with state lawmakers because they were "terrible" already.

"Nobody is even surprised by this Rezko stuff," Halvorson said. "It's just par for the course."

Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), a frequent Blagojevich critic, said the verdict warrants discussion about forming a bipartisan committee to explore articles of impeachment against Blagojevich.

Rep. Marlow Colvin (D-Chicago) said he doesn't support an impeachment committee, but said based on conversations with colleagues, there are enough votes in the House to create such a panel. Still, Colvin said, the motivation goes beyond Rezko to those lawmakers who want Blagojevich to pay for his abrasive dealings with them.

Though not charged with any wrongdoing, Blagojevich became a centerpiece of Rezko's trial.

Prosecutors prominently featured Blagojevich in their case, portraying Rezko as someone with extraordinary access to both the governor and administration leaders.

Three convicted political insiders testified about private meetings they had with the governor. Prosecutors portrayed those instances as pivotal in a scheme to buy state jobs and business with campaign donations. Each of the three testified that they felt Blagojevich clearly implied to them that donors to his campaign would profit from his influence.

One of those witnesses, former Illinois Finance Authority executive director Ali Ata, testified that before he was hired, he attended a meeting at Rezko's offices with Rezko and the governor. At the meeting, Ata said, he brought a $25,000 check that was then placed on the table in front of Blagojevich.

Former federal prosecutors who now are defense lawyers said the verdict will put pressure on Rezko to cooperate with authorities in their continued investigations, which include probing Blagojevich's personal finances as well as the real estate dealings of his wife, Patti.

Thomas Scorza, a former federal prosecutor, said "there are some people who should be very worried now."

"The portrait that has been painted of [Rezko] is that he is an individual who has enough firsthand information to bring a case against Blagojevich," Scorza said. "This is a huge boost to the government because the jury accepted a great bulk of witnesses' testimony."

Scorza said "the only way [Rezko is] going to get out from under this is either success on appeal, which isn't very likely, or to play the cards he has."

Zach Fardon, a member of the prosecution team that convicted Blagojevich's predecessor, Republican George Ryan, of corruption charges, said the verdict is "an absolute success for the government and another black mark on Illinois political history."

"The lesson is full steam ahead," Fardon said. "A conviction means a green light in terms of the investigation moving forward. An acquittal would have slowed them down. . . . This kind of verdict shows that a jury interprets this evidence the same way the prosecution does."

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