He was found guilty of all 10 counts involving wire fraud -- each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The other 10 involved extortion and bribery. Most of the counts have a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The jury acquitted Blagojevich on one count of bribery and was unable to reach verdicts on two counts of attempted extortion.
"I frankly am stunned," an uncharacteristically muted Blagojevich told reporters as he left the courtroom hand-in-hand with his wife. "There's not much left to say, other than we want to get home to our little girls and talk to them and explain things to them and then try to sort things out. I'm sure we'll be seeing you guys again."
A few minutes later, as he and his wife emerged from an SUV on the street outside his house, he shook hands with a group of well-wishers, some of whom applauded him. "It's very meaningful to feel the support of the people," he told a throng of reporters. "It's a very meaningful thing. That sadness that I feel and the disappointment and the shock, Patti and I have to discuss this with our children, our little girls, and start planning for the future."
Their daughters are ages 11 and 14.
Chicago-Kent College of Law Professor Richard Kling predicted that Blagojevich would wind up being sentenced to anywhere between six and 11 years. That calculation is reached by a mathematical formula, he said. "You punch in who he is, what he did," he said.
After delivering their verdict, the jurors addressed the news media. "We felt it was very clear he was trying to make a trade for the Senate seat," one juror said.
Another juror said, "We'd tried everything to find him not guilty, but the evidence was there."
The forewoman, a retired director of music and liturgy at a church, said the experience left her with a negative view of politics in general. "I told my husband that if he was running for politics he'd probably have to find a new wife," she said.
