By HANNAH MEISEL
Capitol News Illinois
CHICAGO – A federal judge declared a mistrial in the corruption case of State Senator Emil Jones the Third after a jury deadlocked nearly 23 hours into their deliberations on the three counts.
Capitol News Illinois reports the jury sat through two weeks of trial, which included testimony from a red-light camera entrepreneur-turned-FBI cooperator and Jones himself.
Jones was accused of agreeing to take bribes from the red-light camera executive in exchange for changing legislation he had proposed that the red-light camera industry opposed. The feds said he then lied to the FBI about the purported bribes.
Prosecutors said it doesn’t matter that Jones was never paid the $5-thousand-dollars, nor did he change his bill. But he did solicit and receive a job for his former intern, which the feds said was also part of the bribe.
