With the news that the head of the family is to serve more than a decade in prison for attempting to solicit bribes and getting caught on a wire, the Blagojevich family welcomed a new member of the family– a homeless puppy likely to be named Twix Blagojevich. Twix was welcomed at a press conference along with former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich his wife and children, and the family’s elder pooch, Skittles.

It’s been nearly three years since former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich stole the national spotlight after being arrested for dozens of counts of corruption, including attempting to sell then-Sen. Barack Obama‘s Senate seat. Today, after two reality shows, a mistrial, and an extended, confusing second trial for the former governor, Blagojevich was found guilty of 20 counts of corruption, including selling the President’s former Senate seat.

After a Memorial Day respite that likely only served to give everyone involved time to catch up on “weinergate,” the Rod Blagojevich corruption trial has resumed. Blagojevich, still on the stand but now being forced to answer to his incriminating conversations with staffers has found a new roadblock in his testimony, however, and it has nothing to do with the facts of the crime: the prosecution is “making faces” at him.

It finally happened. After two and a half years of pleading with the public for a chance to be heard, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich finally took the stand today in his defense. As one would expect from his many media appearances, Blagojevich adamantly denied any wrongdoing, but also, according to press in the room, put the jury to sleep with an unnecessarily elongated biography that detailed his disco years and love of Elvis.

You can’t please everyone: nearly two years after former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich became the face of disgraceful political mischief worldwide, the ethics lecturer and warrior poet has become so predictable and trite that even Chicago media– who actually have to deal with the circumstances of his governorship, are bored with his current trial.

Remember Rod Blagojevich? He was a tragic hero for a different, more innocent time, a delightfully delusional corruptocrat who to this day denies that taped evidence of him selling a U.S. Senate seat does not, actually, prove that he did any such thing. Well, he somehow didn’t get fully indicted the first time around and the Illinois courts are trying to round up new jurors and even before the trial has started, Blago’s lawyers are playing the race/class cards.

The mass exodus of Wisconsin Democratic state senators today to Northern Illinois as a sign of their disapproval of the state’s proposed budget cuts and new union policies may have temporarily frozen the state’s government, but as far as Illinois may be from the Wisconsin courthouse, it wasn’t far enough to avoid intrepid Tea Party members from finding and confronting the legislators on video.

After spending a few days as the Illinois judicial system’s hot potato du jour, former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has finally, officially been allowed back on the ballot for mayor in Chicago. Emanuel’s place in the mayoral race had been in dispute since he moved back to Chicago to run, with the Illinois Appellate Court having ruled that his tenure as Chief of Staff in Washington, D.C. revoked his Chicago residency.

Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel‘s campaign for mayor of Chicago is going… well, mostly as expected. The feisty former Congressman has been conducting “listening tours” of the city where he’s been caught using hand sanitizer (!) after talking to constituents and driving reporters to paroxysms of violent rage. Now he brings the fun to the Chicago Sun-Times, who describe him as “characteristically combative” and “downright annoyed” at some of their questions.

Americans are facing one of the toughest economies of their history, and finding a job just isn’t what it used to be. In a move that appears to indicate a hiring freeze in the reality TV and Elvis impersonation industries, former Illinois governor and America’s sweetheart Rod Blagojevich has landed a gig as a panelist during Advertising Week 2010, discussing his “unique take on trust.”

The panel, named “Advertising Week Trust Forum,” will also include representatives from Facebook, Google, and Yahoo! Organizers have provided the scintillating proposition that, among all the tech darlings, Blagojevich will offer “his experience and unique take on trust. A must-see event.” Meanwhile, his publicist told the AP (via NBC’s Ward Room Chicago blog) that “The Rod Blagojevich brand was completely attacked and he went about restoring it – and did so successfully.”

It’s been a big week for Rod Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois who made a name for himself after committing acts that US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald declared would “make Abe Lincoln roll in his grave.” Except the jury couldn’t convict him on 23 of those 24 charges, and now the tables have turned on Fitzgerald, with the media rallying against a retrial and the Wall Street Journal calling for Fitzgerald’s resignation.

The mass confusion surrounding the trials and mistrials of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich continue, a day after he was found guilty of one charge of lying to the FBI and the judge called a mistrial on the other 23 racketeering, bribery, and other corruption charges. Now some of the jurors have come out and said that eleven of the twelve of them were ready to convict, but one lone juror refused to vote “guilty” on 23 of the charges.

Oh Blago, what will we do with ourselves if you go away to jail? After receiving the relatively positive message that he was found guilty of only one of 23 counts of various types of corruption, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich gave a barn-burner of a speech in front of the press with the kind of vigor we haven’t seen in months– complete with headstrong pleas of innocence graphic images of children shot in the streets (but sadly no poetry).

After two and a half months of deliberation, tension, confusion, impersonation and the one of the most impressive manes in American politics, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has been found guilty of one count of lying to federal prosecutors– but not much else. The jury has yet to decide on the other twenty-three charges, including the bribery, extortion, and wire fraud, and the alleged attempt to sell Barack Obama‘s Senate seat. Judge James Zagel has called a mistrial.

Last Monday, we wondered what could possibly be going on with the corruption trial of America’s favorite coif, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. What could be taking them so long? Well, today the tragic hero himself made an appearance at the court, along with his brother Rob, because the jury has told the judge they are unable to agree on “any given count” of the 24 Blagojevich has been charged with.

One of the saddest indirect consequences of the Shirley Sherrod story—after the obvious direct ones— has been the fact that it has completely eclipsed what could have been one of the summer’s most fascinating spectacles: the Rod Blagojevich trial. In today’s chapter of the ongoing dramady, Judge James Zagel sent the jury home after objecting to the defense’s attempt to attack prosecutors for not calling certain witnesses to the stand.

If those rumors that surfaced across the pond that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is gearing up to quit the Obama administration pan out, he should have enough to keep him busy at him with the trial of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. The latest from the greatest show in Springfield is that reports show Emanuel, then a Congressman, may have traded a supportive letter to the editor in the Chicago Tribune for a $2 million public school grant.

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush surfaced at a campaign stop for Illinois gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady today, where he fielded a question about the national economic situation, and to what extent his older brother, former President George W. Bush, has a hand in it. With a half-shrug, half-smile, the younger Bush responded that he doesn’t take anti-Bush rhetoric too seriously, since those who hate him even blame him for their “sniffles.”

It’s been almost two years of outrageous comments, ill-advised reality show appearances, and bearable anticipation, but finally, the trial of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich is on the way, and the governor is getting his one wish with a slow trickle of FBI wiretaps leaking out of the courtroom. So far, twenty new conversations have been released, and they show the governor trading laws for dollars and judging potential donors by how much they love his hair.

The day of reckoning has come for former Illinois governor and reality TV star Rod Blagojevich, and he’s still singing the same song of innocence he gave the media on Day 1. Arriving at the courthouse for the first day of his corruption trial, Blagojevich received a spirited defense from his wife, Patti, who called this a “good day,” because it was the first step towards her husband’s vindication

Chicago-area talk radio host Rod Blagojevich is planning to dip his feet in the frigid water of Illinois politics sometime in the near future, he announced on his weekly WLS AM 890 show yesterday. Unlike most Chicago-area radio personalities, Blagojevich has a bit of a hurdle standing in between himself and winning any election—his previous career as governor of Illinois, and the corruption trial that resulted when an FBI investigation found evidence that he was trying to trade a Senate appointment for profit.

Last night, Sean Hannity took to fighting the Highland Park, Illinois school system Sarah Palin is furious at over their refusal to allow their high school girls’ basketball team to travel to Arizona for a tournament. Their reasoning for preventing them from going was an opposition to the new Arizona illegal immigration law. Hannity had two of the girls from the team on the show to discuss their reaction to not being able to compete in Arizona, and they admitted they were, for the most part, confused.

Sarah Palin really knows how to get the most bang for her buck out of her catchphrases. Palin’s Twitter account— apparently she’s retreated from Facebook after the backlash against her Carly Fiorina endorsement Update: and her Facebook — already hinted at her fury about this, but today Palin took to Fox News to discuss the Illinois girl’s basketball team whose school is protesting against the new Arizona illegal immigration law, and she wants the girls to “go rogue” in response.

After appearing on a local talk show with his wife to confirm rumors of beating, attempted rape, using steroids, and not paying his alimony or his taxes, Illinois Lieutenant Governor candidate Scott Lee Cohen gave a tearful farewell to his campaign, presumably never to return to the political world again. Three months later, Cohen is reanimating his campaign for a shot at the big time, announcing an independent run for governor yesterday.

The defense in United States v. Rod Blagojevich just received the devastating news from the federal judge in the case that their request to subpoena President Barack Obama to testify in favor of the former governor has been denied. For media insiders and lovers of the political circus, it’s a sad day in America.