Eighteen months after he was arrested, the trial of Rod Blagojevich gets under way Thursday. And the former Illinois governor says the process signals the beginning of the road to redemption. "My government is doing something very wrong to me and my family," Blagojevich said recently. "That will soon be over when we begin on Thursday." Amid what is expected to be a media circus in the Chicago courtroom, Blagojevich’s legal team will defend him on 24 counts of racketeering, wire fraud, attempted extortion and bribery. If convicted, Blagojevich could be sentenced to a maximum of 415 years in jail and some $6 million in fines. Blagojevich’s lawyers have already subpoenaed White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as a witness.
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