Former Wheaton couple follows Blagojevich

Dan and Judy Leary are retired former Wheaton residents who winter in Florida and are now back in Chicago staying in a downtown condo owned by a son. Yet they're also spending much of the summer, at least so far, attending the Blagojevich corruption trial.

"We're just really interested," Judy Leary said Wednesday.

Dan Leary said he read Rod Blagojevich's book, "The Governor," at home in Florida. "I used to like the guy because he came from a working-class neighborhood," he said.

He added that he's gotten a chance to talk with Blagojevich and was impressed with his command of political history, including the 1968 Democratic Convention, which Leary attended. And Leary hasn't entirely abandoned the governor.

"I think a lot of what he says is true on the tapes" and that's just the way political business gets done, he said.

Judy Leary added she's been impressed by Patti Blagojevich, stating the couple must have a strong marriage.

Dan Leary also hasn't abandoned Blagojevich for another reason: He has worked in the prison ministry of former NFL player Bill Glass. He evened managed to slip Blagojevich a copy of a book in a break during Wednesday's trial: "Why Did This Happen to Me?"

Patti Blagojevich was carrying it when they left at the end of the day.