Profiling Ed Genson, Blagojevich’s Attorney

Profiling Ed Genson, Blagojevich’s Attorney

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.
Legendary lawyer Ed Genson is Chicago’s go-to attorney for desperate criminal cases. Even former prosecutors who’ve faced the tough litigator say that if they were in trouble he’d be at the top of their list to defend them. So it wasn’t a surprise when Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich sought out Genson’s services.

Nor was it a surprise when Genson took up his case earlier this week. The attorney could probably paper the courthouse walls with the cash he’s earned representing high-profile defendants like R&B superstar R. Kelly, former governor George Ryan’s codefendant Larry Warner, and a career’s worth of other clients that reads like a who’s who of public corruption—and the Chicago mob. But Genson may not be in this one for the money. Blagojevich is said to be in financial trouble.

Steve Rhodes is the editor of the online journal The Beachwood Reporter, and he wrote a 2005 profile of Ed Genson for Chicago Magazine.