Exec again pleads guilty in Blagojevich-related case

Another piece of unfinished business in the decade-long investigation of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration has been dealt with in federal court in Chicago.

Building contractor Jacob Kiferbaum of Glencoe pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempted extortion in an amended plea deal. It calls for a prison term of about two years when he is sentenced July 17.

Kiferbaum admitted he and others with links to Blagojevich threatened to deny state permission for Edward Hospital’s expansion in Plainfield unless the Naperville hospital hired Kiferbaum for the job.

A 2003 investigation into the scheme spawned other investigations that eventually toppled dozens of Illinois power brokers, including Blagojevich himself.

Prosecutors never charged Blagojevich in the hospital scheme. But jurors convicted him in 2011 of multiple other corruption counts. He’s serving a 14-year prison term in Colorado.