Blago Lawyer Sam Adam Jr. Mulls a Run For State's Attorney: Report

Watch your back, Anita.

Defense lawyer Sam Adam Jr., who's successfully repped both ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and singer R. Kelly in their infamous Chicago trials, has his eye on Cook County state's attorney Anita Alvarez's job. 

Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed reports that Adam Jr. assembled a group to explore the idea of the lawyer potentially challenging fellow Democrat Alvarez in 2016's election. 

"I've been approached to run and have been giving it a lot of thought. So much so, I am taking the serious step of forming an exploratory committee," he told Sneed. “I am committed to the protection of individual rights—both the rights of citizens as well as victims, which is foremost in my mind ... Violence is a scourge and my focus. After all, I live on the South Side of Chicago, where most of the violence happens."

The 42-year-old son of high-profile criminal defense attorney Sam Adam Sr. made a name for himself for his theatrical closing argument in R. Kelly's 2008 trial on charges of videotaping himself having sex with a minor. A jury found the Chicago-based R&B star not guilty. In 2010, Adam Jr. took on Blagojevich as a client, defending the disgraced (and now-imprisoned) Illinois governor against allegations he tried to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat, and arguing the case to a stalemate. 

"Blagojevich is not a criminal. I’ve had some criminals, and he is not a criminal!" he declared in a Chicago Magazine profile that year. 

In the same interview, he observed, "A jury trial is a show, nothing but a show. He who puts on the best show, he who entertains the most, he who can bring (his) point in the most effective way, wins. Hands down."

Should Adam Jr. run, Alvarez may want to look into acting lessons if she wants to one-up him on the political stage.

Contact Us