Ellis pointed behind him to a poster board with transcripts of Blagojevich's wiretapped phone conversations, often laced with obscenities.
In the first part of his closing argument -- before Blagojevich addressed the Senate -- Ellis said that "every decision this governor made was based on one of three criteria: the governor's legal situation, his personal situation and his political situation."
As an example, he cited the criminal filing in which Blagojevich was charged with conspiring to sell Obama's Senate seat. " 'It's a . . . valuable thing. You just don't give it away for nothing,' " Ellis quoted Blagojevich as saying.
"The governor," Ellis said, "wanted to make a trade."
The prosecutor also discussed federal allegations that Blagojevich had tried to pressure Tribune Co. -- the parent company of the Los Angeles Times -- to fire Chicago Tribune editorial writers in exchange for state money to help with the sale of the Chicago Cubs.
Ellis said Blagojevich had 15 conversations with his former chief of staff, John Harris, in a month, repeatedly directing Harris to talk to high-ranking Tribune Co. executives.
There would be no money from the state to help with the sale of the Cubs, Ellis said, unless members of the editorial board were fired.
"The governor knew what he was doing was harmful," Ellis said.
Ellis then detailed three alleged schemes in which Blagojevich tried to raise campaign cash in return for official state action in hopes of stockpiling $2.5 million in his campaign fund before a new ethics law took effect Jan. 1.
One involved an $8-million grant to Children's Memorial Hospital that authorities said Blagojevich wanted to trade for a $50,000 campaign contribution.
Another was reportedly a plan to trade his signature on a horse racing impact fee bill for a campaign contribution from a track owner.
The third alleged scheme was a $1.8-billion tollway project that Blagojevich apparently wanted to fetch a $500,000 campaign contribution.
Ellis urged the senators to convict Blagojevich, saying the evidence showed that throughout his tenure, the governor had abused his power in order to benefit himself.
"The people of this state deserve so much better," Ellis said quietly, concluding the first part of his closing argument. "Gov. Blagojevich should be removed from office."
When it was his turn to speak, Blagojevich decried a "rush to judgment."
