Blagojevich retrial not likely, experts say

CHICAGO -- Prosecutors are not expected to retry Rod Blagojevich on the five convictions that were overturned by an appeals court Tuesday, a former prosecutor said.

"They have two choices. They can retry the counts or just go to sentencing. And when you look at the three prosecutors that led this charge: two of them have already left the office . . . the last one just got appointed a state judge the other day. So it's safe to say they're not going to retry those counts," former prosecutor Jeff Cramer said.

Former Blagojevich attorney Sam Adam Jr. agrees.

"It's a victory of sorts. You have to look at it this way: anytime you have counts that are thrown out, especially in the 7th circuit, that's a victory. Are there opportunities here that Judge Zagel can take right now and say, 'You know what, five of those counts are out, I have to resentence him to something less.' Is it highly likely that's going to happen? I don't believe so. It's unfortunate. I'm disappointed in it. But I think what's going to end up happening at the end of the day is the majority of that sentence is going to be reissued to Rod."