A judge ruled Tuesday that former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will serve his original 14-year sentence.
Advertisement
In this Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016 courtroom sketch, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, right, appears via video from a Colorado prison during his re-sentencing in a federal courtroom in Chicago.
Both of Blagojevich’s daughters spoke in court Tuesday, detailing the difficulties they’ve faced without their father present.
Among the causes that lead to Blagojevich’s original conviction was the charge that he sought to exchange an appointment to Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat in exchange for campaign money.
In July of 2015, an appeals court tossed five of those convictions and ordered a judge to re-sentence Blagojevich, saying the total number of years did not have to change. A jury also convicted Blagojevich of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Many portrayed Blagojevich – known as brash in his days as governor – as humble and self-effacing, as well as an insightful life coach and lecturer on everything from the Civil War to Richard Nixon. “I thank you for the opportunity to speak”, he said.
Seeking a five-year sentence that would have enabled him to leave prison quickly, the former governor apologized for his “mistakes” and the way he “fought back” against the government.
The appeals court upheld the convictions related to Blagojevich’s efforts to sell the seat for cash.
His 20-year-old daughter Amy and 13-year-daughter Annie also asked Zagel to cut their father’s sentence for their sake.
Blagojevich is scheduled to be released in May 2024.
“Please give Annie the chance for a normal happy childhood, that has slipped away from Amy”, Patti Blagojevich wrote in the letter.
It will be his first public appearance since he entered prison in 2012. His attorney Len Goodman says the governor will pursue the case to the state supreme court even though the court has said that they would not hear this appeal.
Zagel said he applauded Blagojevich for being a model prisoner, but his wrongdoing as governor merited the sentence. The band had a 21-song setlist, according to the AP, and broke up because the guitarist was released.
Blagojevich’s younger daughter, 13-year-old Annie, told the judge Tuesday morning that she nearly doesn’t want to grow up because she wants to wait for her father to come home from prison.
Appearing from a Colorado prison via video, the disgraced ex-governor looked visibly thinner with ghostly white hair. “They were the victims of his crimes”.
Blagojevich’s wife told reporters outside court that the resentencing was “cruel and heartless and unfair”. “Judge Zagel made up his mind, even before (the hearing) started”.
In addition to trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, he also lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shook down the CEO of Children’s Memorial Hospital for campaign donations, and tried to squeeze the racetrack industry for campaign money in exchange for gambling legislation. Blagojevich’s attorneys had asked for a 5-year reduced term after a federal appeals court.
Advertisement
Earlier this year, though, the U.S.
