Jailed Rezko agrees to push back his trial

Jailed political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko wanted his fraud trial to get under way sooner than its scheduled Feb. 25 start date, but ultimately he agreed to accept his attorney's advice and move the trial back a week.

The 52-year-old businessman's case is being closely watched because he raised thousands of dollars for both Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Federal Judge Amy St. Eve jailed Rezko on Monday, saying his financial maneuverings suggest that he might flee to avoid going to trial. As a result, defense attorneys had wanted more time to prepare for trial, contending that Rezko's jailing made it harder for them to prepare his defense, but Rezko himself apparently was eager for the case to begin.

St. Eve told defense attorneys that she was willing to delay the trial for a week to give them more time to prepare. Originally, attorney Joseph Duffy told her Rezko not only didn't want a delay, he also wished the trial would start sooner. Later, however, he persuaded his client and the court to accept a later start date and the trial was set to begin on March 3.

• Daily Herald staff writer Rob Olmstead contributed to this report.