Villa Park Blago juror: ‘Sorry for his family’

John McParland — the only male on the Rod Blagojevich jury — hopes the verdict will serve “as a good wake-up call for other politicians.”

McParland, 52, of Villa Park, said he wasn’t swayed by the former governor’s personable and at times self-deprecating appearance on the stand.

He was “acting like a real nice guy and everything,” said McParland, an on-call custodian for a school district.

But that didn’t square with what the jurors heard on the tapes and read in the transcripts, he said.

“Whether it’s a political type of talk or not, us regular people, when we hear something like that, it’s hard not to believe he was serious in this situation,” McParland said.

The jurors worked well together, listening to each other and respecting each other’s opinions, McParland said.

“From the beginning, it almost seemed like family and friends, like we knew each other for years,” he said. Members of the panel have already talked about holding a reunion, possibly as early as next month.

McParland said he has no opinion on how much time the former governor should serve behind bars.

But, McParland added, “I sort of feel sorry for his family.”