Weighing his legal options on how to fight a scandal that has left his career in tatters, while also disrupting President-elect Barack Obama’s White House transition - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich had a four-hour meeting Saturday with Ed Genson, a renowned Chicago criminal lawyer.

Genson has earned a reputation as the lawyer big shots call when they get in a bind in Chicago – he has defended numerous public figures on corruption charges, including newspaper baron Conrad Black, R&B singer R Kelly.

Blagojevich faces a litany of federal corruption charges, among them attempting to sell Obama’s US Senate seat to the highest bidder. He has brushed back all calls for his resignation, and seeks to project a ‘business-as-usual’ image amid the turmoil, going to work every day and handling state business. 

Scoffing at rumors that the governor was prepared to resign on Monday, Blagojevich’s spokesman, Lucio Guerrero, said: “Absolutely not true. There is zero chance of that... I know for sure not Monday.” However, he added: “I’m sure when his attorney says you need to resign, he will, but he hasn’t said that.”

Aside from resignation, there is really no quick or simple way to oust a sitting governor.

Some observers suggest that Blagojevich’s lingering refusal to resign is more rooted in his ego than anything else - the governor has been known to love being in the spotlight, whether the attention is good or bad.

However, with the legal maneuvering intensifying, some other observers opine that Blagojevich might be trying to leverage the governorship to his advantage in his criminal case – the way prosecutors said he did with the Senate seat for financial gain.