It's the first day of jury selection in Rod Blagojevich's re-trial, and he arrived at the Dirksen Courthouse just minutes before he had to enter the courtroom (though many reporters waited for him for hours).
He wasn't required to be here for the first official day of the trial Wednesday because prospective jurors simply filled out questionnaires. Today, they're in the courtroom for the first time.
Apart from a few curious bystanders, no throng awaited Blagojevich this time, though fervent supporter Patty Farley, a 58-year-old Chicago resident, was there to greet the governor as she was on the first day of his trial last summer. Farley was holding a handmade "Madigate" sign that she asked Blagojevich to autograph; calling over his wife, Patti, he obliged.
"You look wonderful!" she said. He smiled, gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek.
"God bless you," Blagojevich replied before entering the courthouse to head through security.
"If Abraham Lincoln is rolling in his grave," Farley said, referencing a statement by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald when he announced the charges against Blagojevich, "it's because in his beloved state of Illinois, politics totally rules law enforcement."
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