An U.S. District Judge sentenced former Illinois governor Rob Blagojevich to 14 years in prison Wednesday for 18 corruption charges, including attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama in 2008. The 54-year-old must also pay nearly $22,000 in fines. He has until February 15 to surrender to prison.
Just before his sentencing, Blagojevich confessed his guilt and begged Judge James Zagel for leniency. “The jury convicted me. Those were my actions. Those were things I did; talked about doing. I am responsible for that. I caused it all. I’m not blaming anybody. I was the governor, and I should have known better,” he said.
“I never set out to break the law,” said Blagojevich. “The jury decided I was guilty, I am accepting of it, I acknowledge it.
“I have nobody to blame but myself for my stupidity and actions and the things I did and I thought I could do,” he added.
“When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily or quickly repaired. You did that damage,” Zagel said.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald approved of the sentence. “Blagojevich betrayed the trust and faith that Illinois voters placed in him, feeding great public frustration, cynicism and disengagement among citizens. People have the right to expect that their elected leaders will honor the oath they swear to, and this sentence shows that the justice system will stand up to protect their expectations,” Fitzgerald said in a statement.
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