For Democrats here, in a state government they almost entirely control, the final chapter could not come soon enough. By turns, Illinois residents had been mortified by the saga, amused by its circuslike antics and, most recently, weary of the whole thing.

Mr. Blagojevich’s impeachment, removal from office and evolution into a punch line on late-night television threatened the Democratic Party’s political hold on the state, created an outcry to overhaul lax state campaign finance and public records laws, and led to added scrutiny of some of this city’s best-known politicians, including Mr. Obama, Rahm Emanuel (the president’s former chief of staff and now Chicago’s mayor) and Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr.

The scandal also reaffirmed an image that Illinois has long wished to shed: Mr. Blagojevich appears likely to be the fourth governor in recent memory to be imprisoned (one for acts committed after leaving office).

Mr. Blagojevich, 54, the father of two girls, was released until sentencing. His lawyers have until next month to pursue a new trial. The most serious of the counts carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

After Mr. Blagojevich’s first trial last year, jurors said the case had been too tangled and confusing, and it was clear that prosecutors took that message to heart. In the retrial, which began in April, prosecutors offered fewer, simpler charges, a notably boiled-down message and an emphasis on the thought that Mr. Blagojevich did not need to actually complete any deals to be found guilty of crimes for proposing them.

Prosecutors laid out five “schemes” in which they said Mr. Blagojevich tried to get campaign contributions in exchange for supporting a Senate appointee or legislation to help racetracks, a pediatric hospital or road projects. They also accused him of pushing for a campaign fund-raiser (from Mr. Emanuel’s brother in Hollywood, Ari) in exchange for supporting a school. The jury ultimately did not convict Mr. Blagojevich in connection to the school or the road projects.

The stakes of the retrial were apparent. Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois (who may be better known nationally as having pursued the C.I.A. leak case against I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney) personally listened to parts of the trial and sat in the back row as the verdicts were read, later describing the outcome as vindication for the people of Illinois.