CHICAGO - AUGUST 17: Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich speaks to the press following a verdict at his corruption trial August 17, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. Blagojevich was found guilty on one charge of giving a false statement to federal agents. The jury was hung and was unable to reach a verdict on 23 of the 24 counts. The government plans to retry him.
Scott Olson/Getty ImagesRod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison Wednesday.
The former Illinois governor received 18 convictions, including political corruption for the attempt to sell the state’s Senate seat after it was vacated by then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2009.
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“When it is the governor who goes bad the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired,” Judge James Zagel said, reports the Associated Press.”Whatever good things you did for people as governor, and you did some, I am more concerned with the occasions when you wanted to use your powers when you wanted to do things that were only good for yourself.”
Before the sentencing, Blagojevich issued a plea for leniency and an apology (a departure from his years of insisting he was innocent of the charges).
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“I’m here convicted of crimes … ,” Blagojevich said, “and I am accepting of it, I acknowledge it and I of course am unbelievably sorry for it.”
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The AP reports that it is unlikely the politician, who also appeared on Donald Trump’s The Apprentice in 2010, will be taken into custody immediately. “In white-collar cases, convicted felons are usually given at least a few weeks to report to prison while federal authorities select a suitable facility. Blagojevich is expected to appeal his conviction, but it is unlikely to affect when he reports to prison,” says the AP.
