Jury is still out at Rezko trial

Jurors wrapped up their sixth day of deliberations Thursday without reaching a verdict in the corruption trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko.

The panel will return to Chicago's federal courthouse Tuesday as the public waits to learn the fate of one of Illinois' more prolific political insiders.

The verdict is expected to have far-reaching ramifications. Rezko was close to several top Illinois politicians, including Democratic governor Rod Blagojevich and presidential hopeful Barack Obama, the state's junior U.S. senator.

It is usually impossible to predict how long such closed-door deliberations may last. Rezko's jurors have two months' worth of trial material to review as they consider 24 criminal charges, ranging from wire fraud to extortion and bribery.

Prosecutors say Rezko used his influence as a member of Blagojevich's inner circle to lead a corrupt crew of insiders who schemed to extort millions of dollars in kickbacks from state contractors.

Defense attorneys argued Rezko was framed by the prosecution's star witness, an admitted con man who has a history of hardcore drug abuse.

The panel of 10 women and two men have had scheduling hang-ups. After closing arguments last week, the jury had a day off. On Tuesday, a juror's family emergency led to only a half-day of deliberations.

Another scheduling issue with a juror led to deliberations ending a half-hour early Thursday. The jury was scheduled to have today off and they also requested May 30 off, if their work takes that long.

For perspective, here is how long deliberations took for other high-profile corruption cases, all of which ended in convictions:

• 3 weeks - Gov. George Ryan's second round of deliberations following the replacement of two jurors.

• 11 days - Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese

• 6 days - Gov. George Ryan's former top aide Scott Fawell

• 4 days - Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's patronage chief Robert Sorich