NBC Chicago reports that former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has been sentenced to 14 years in prison on corruption charges. The judge was reportedly considering a sentence of between 12.5 and 15.5 years, so he came down pretty hard. The sentence was lightened from the 15-20 years desired by prosecutors because Blago “took responsibility for his actions.”
I had a feeling Blago was headed for trouble when there were reports of his lawyer grinning and flashing thumbs-up at reporters this morning. That’s never a good sign.
The judge, James Zagel, said that “Blagojevich’s staff did not march him down this criminal path. He marched them.” He told the disgraced former governor, “Your personality may not be entirely suitable for public service.” Ouch.
There hasn’t been much word from Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL), who has been implicated in Blagojevich’s plot to sell Barack Obama’s old Senate seat, and is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee following the release of a report by the Office of Congressional Ethics. Jackson Jr. is not normally camera-shy.
It’s funny that the President didn’t mention all this when he was lecturing America on the inherent corruption of free-market capitalism in Osawatomie yesterday, isn’t it? Clearly the Democrat Part is not entirely opposed to the sale of goods and services for profit.
