No Rezko verdict on first day of deliberations

Jurors spent their first full day debating the fate of insider Antoin "Tony" Rezko Thursday without reaching a verdict in the landmark corruption trial.

The jury has testimony and evidence from more than two months of trial to contemplate as it weighs 24 criminal counts, including extortion and bribery, against the former fundraiser and adviser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

During deliberations Thursday, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve received two notes from the jury.

In one, a woman asked St. Eve to be let out of deliberations 30 minutes early next Thursday to attend her grandson's eighth-grade graduation. St. Eve granted the request.

The second note requested a transcript of testimony from a prosecution witness, which was denied. As is typical in such requests, St. Eve sent back a note telling the jurors to "rely on your collective recollection of the testimony" for all witnesses.

Lengthy closing arguments ended Tuesday, and the jury selected a foreman and conducted brief deliberations before adjourning. There were no deliberations Wednesday.

Prosecutors allege Rezko, along with a cadre of other insiders, tried to extort $8 million from businesses seeking to invest teacher pension funds and build suburban hospitals in 2003 and 2004.

The prosecution put on a litany of witnesses and played secretly recorded conversations that pointed to Rezko as the corrupt group's linchpin -- the top insider who could sway gubernatorial appointees who could then be used to steer state contracts.

Perhaps most illuminating, witnesses testified to Rezko's alleged attempts to stop investigators by pulling strings to oust U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

Yet, jurors will have to overcome the fact that the prosecution's key witnesses had taken plea deals in exchange for their testimony. And the prosecution's star witness, millionaire attorney Stuart Levine, is an admitted con man who abused hard drugs for three decades.

Defense attorney Joseph Duffy didn't put on any witnesses or present any evidence, declaring that the prosecution failed to meet its burden of proof. In his closing arguments, Duffy also pointed out the lack of hard evidence putting bribe money in Rezko's pockets.

The jury's decision could have far-reaching ramifications.

Rezko was a key confidant and fundraiser to numerous Illinois politicians, including U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. The Chicago Democrat's presidential run has been tarred by his Rezko connections.

The jury will resume deliberations today.