CHICAGO — Rod Blagojevich was so desperate for money he tried to shake down everyone from a racetrack owner to a children's hospital executive to president-elect Barack Obama, a federal prosecutor told jurors today during closing arguments at the former Illinois governor's corruption trial.

The reason was that Blagojevich was broke and "he needed this golden ticket," said prosecutor Chris Niewoehner, who methodically reviewed the highlights of the seven-week trial, during which jurors heard Blagojevich on hours of secretly recorded FBI wiretap tapes.

Niewoehner said Blagojevich ramped up his alleged moneymaking schemes in late 2008 because a new ethics law taking effect Jan. 1, 2009, would have limited the amount of money he could accept from people and businesses doing business with the state.