After 12 days, Blagojevich jury makes slow progress

* Jury has yet to deliberate on 11 counts

* Former governor faces 24 counts

By Nick Carey

CHICAGO, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Nearly two weeks after beginning deliberations in former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial, the jury said on Thursday it had reached a verdict on only two of 24 counts against him.

The jury also said in a note to U.S. District Judge James Zagel it had so far been "unable to agree on any of the remaining counts" and had not yet deliberated on 11 of them.

Zagel asked the jurors to go back and deliberate on the 11 counts, of wire fraud, they had not yet discussed. The jury later adjourned for the day.

"It is not unusual for juries to be able to agree on some counts and not on others," said Rodger Heaton, a partner at law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, " especially in cases like this that last for weeks, have multiple counts and a lot of witnesses."

Heaton said Zagel was treading carefully with the jury to avoid any appeals court finding that "he somehow affected the jury's deliberations improperly."

"He (Zagel) has to be careful not to push the jury to convict or acquit," he said. "And he doesn't want to push them either way if the jury's genuinely hung."

Blagojevich, 53, faces 24 counts of fraud, racketeering, attempted extortion, bribery conspiracy and lying to investigators.

The allegations included an attempt to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama in 2008.

Despite promising he would take the stand, Blagojevich's lawyers rested their case without calling a single witness in his defense, arguing the prosecution had proved his innocence with the weakness of its own case.

The Illinois Legislature ousted the second-term Democrat from office two months after he was arrested. (Additional reporting by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Peter Cooney)