James B. Zagel, who as a federal judge sentenced former Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich to 14 years in prison for corruption and who earlier helped prosecute Richard Speck for the grisly killings of eight Chicago student nurses, died on July 15 at his home in Chicago. He was 82.

The case against Rod Blagojevich centered on allegations that he had tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois that had been vacated by Barack Obama upon Mr. Obama’s election to president in 2008. Mr. Blagojevich was released from prison in 2020 after President Donald J. Trump commuted his sentence.