Jury begins deliberations in former Illinois governor's corruption trial

CHICAGO (AP) — Rod Blagojevich's fate was in the hands of jurors today as they prepared to begin deciding whether the impeached Illinois governor tried to sell a nomination to President Barack Obama's former Senate seat and schemed to use his political power for personal gain.

Jurors, weighing evidence against the second Illinois governor in a row to be charged with corruption in office, first received lengthy instructions from the judge on how their deliberations should be conducted — including one instruction that they are not to consider the fact that Blagojevich did not testify.

"I'm not expecting" a speedy verdict, Judge James B. Zagel said earlier.

One critical instruction he gave was that jurors could make "reasonable inferences." That is important because prosecutors said in their closing arguments that Blagojevich did not point-blank demand money in exchange for something but implied it.