Blagojevich gets 14 years in prison for corruption

[Drale]

Source: Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Rod Blagojevich, the ousted Illinois governor whose three-year battle against criminal charges became a national spectacle, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday, one of the stiffest penalties imposed for corruption in a state with a history of crooked politics.

Blagojevich's 18 convictions included allegations of trying to leverage his power to appoint someone to President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat to raise campaign cash or land a high-paying job.

Judge James Zagel gave Blagojevich some credit for taking responsibility for his actions — which the former governor did in an address to the court earlier in the day — but said that didn't mitigate his crimes. Zagel also said Blagojevich did some good things for people as governor, but was more concerned about using his powers for himself.

"When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired," Zagel said.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/blagojevich-gets-14-years-prison-corruption-183334615.html

[RockaFowler]

1. Kind of harsh

That seems so long . . .

[truebrit71]

2. He gets 14 years, his predecessor got 6...Number of deaths casued by Blago = 0

Number of deaths caused by George Ryan = At least six...

Yeah, 14 years sounds fair to me :sarcasm:


(And don't accuse me of being an apologist, Blago is/was a blight on Illinois Dems, but this sentence is simply not reasonable)..

[leftyohiolib]

3. what he did, even more harsh. shoulda got the whole 300 years

let him be a lesson to everyone

[MarkCharles]

14. His hair will suffer. Immensely.

And why should taxpayers give him (14x365x3) taxpayer paid-for meals for such a long time?

Not to mention the haircuts.

[SteveM]

20. Oh, he'll just ask Rick Perry for advice. nt

[Posteritatis]

18. I'm oddly comfortable w/harsh sentences for elected officials who abuse their positions. (nt)

[No Elephants]

33. This is 14 years for INTENT to abuse his position. He didn't succeed.

Granted, he would have liked to succeed, but that is so of everyone who intends to commit a crime, but fails.

Here's a link to a story about a man who attempted to hire a hitman to kill a human being. He got six years.

http://triblocal.com/libertyville/2011/09/01/libertyville-businessman-sentenced-to-years-for-murder-for-hire-attempt

[pam4water]

22. +1

[tblue]

4. And the torturers and war criminals walk free

Unbelievable. No wait, it is too believable.

[LuckyLib]

16. Not to mention the bankers, hedge fund managers, Summers, and half of the B and O administrations'

economic "advisors".

[tblue]

19. It's not right. I mean, what he did was DUMB and immoral

but no one DIED, for goodness sake! 2 years in the pokey wouldn't suffice?

And yes, I'd like to see some of the above in prison, along with the Massey mine and BP disaster culprits. WTH kind of country is this, one of laws or one of money? No, don't even bother to say. I know the answer already.

[PassingFair]

21. He pissed off Rahm Emanuel.

You can't play chicken fight with Rahm Emanuel.

He is a thug. They are both thugs.

[rtassi]

25. +1

[murielm99]

32. Nope. Not Rahm.

He pissed off the Madigan family. They are some of the most powerful Democrats in the country. You've never heard of them? That helps them retain their power. Rove lost a lot the minute his name became a household word.

[No Elephants]

36. Thanks. Blago called Madigan a Bush Republican. So that probably pissed off Rahm too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Madigan

[No Elephants]

35. Rahm seems way more ruthless than Blago.

[No Elephants]

34. Not even what he did. What he INTENDED to do,.

[Ian David]

5. He just offered to sell me his prison sentence. n/t

[russspeakeasy]

12. That, Ian David, is damned funny...

:evilgrin:

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JDPriestly]

7. If what Blagojevich was convicted of doing got him 14 years,

most people in the White House and Congress deserve many times that.

Craziest thing -- picking on Blagojevich when exchanging appointments, favors, votes and money appear to be so commonplace in our government. After all, Blagojevich had the right to appoint the senator. It was really none of Obama's visit.

I wonder what went on behind the scenes regarding some of the appointments to high places in D.C. I wonder how some of these characters were chosen.

[go west young man]

30. So true. The whole system is corrupt.

They all do it. Nepotism is everywhere. They all promote friends and family. They all sell out to the corporations.
They all take lobbyist dollars for political favors and they all go work for corps when they finish with the gov't
which is clearly a conflict of interest. Dick Cheney should of got life in prison ages ago. This guy is small beans
and the sentence seems more political than anything else. It doesn't resolve anything. It just increases the public
perception that "all" politics in America are corrupted. I wonder what the judge was promised.

[BeyondGeography]

8. That's what happens when you can't afford a $500 million fine

[SoapBox]

9. He's off the streets...good bye and good riddance...

Maybe your cell mate will eventually be Sandusky.

[Drale]

10. Blago's going to a general population prison

because he got over 10 years, Jerry will be kept away from the general population because they kill child molesters.

[No Elephants]

37. Wow.

[harun]

11. What ? How the hell does he get 14 years and the rest of the corrupt

politicians get hired as lobbyist's and corporate "consultant's"...

Oh, never mind, answered my own question.

[LanternWaste]

13. Fourteen years will turn out to be two and half years served en toto.

I imagine fourteen years will turn out to be two and half years served en toto.

My father was sentenced to thirty-seven years in 1969 and did seven (one in Fed, six in state)... that with no money to buy off politicians, judges and parole board members.

[PassingFair]

23. The article says he'll have to serve 12.

Unless he gets out on an appeal.

Probably baloney, but that's what
the article says.

[rollin74]

28. he'll have to serve at least 85% of the sentence

per federal law

[No Elephants]

38. Someone powerful obviously had an interest in nailing Blago, though.

We'll see what it turns out to be, but it's still harsh in comparison to other sentences. A man who tried to get someone killed are sentenced to six year, with the judge admitting that six years was a harsh sentence, designed to send a message to others.

And Blago gets 14 years for trying to do what politicians do routinely and get away with?


BTW, a poster downthread says, because it is federal, he will have to serve at least 85% of the sentence. I haven't doublechecked, though.


I wonder how Rahm got to mayor of Chicago? Putting Daley's brother in the WH probably had nothing to do with that.

[Blue Owl]

15. Do Not Pass BlaGo

Do not collect $200

[JI7]

17. anyone know if he will have to serve all 14 or he can get out earlier ?

if so how early could he get out ?

[rollin74]

27. federal-you have to serve at least 85% of the sentence

so he has to serve a minimum of just under 12 years

[onehandle]

24. Now which Bank CEO was he that got us into this financial mess?

Oh, right. Never mind.

[BlueStater]

26. Good. He's an embarrassment and disgrace to the Democratic party.

Fuck him.

[No Elephants]

39. Guess he should have tried to get a human being killed instead. Apparently six years is considered

a harsh sentence for that.

Being a Republican with a D after your name is much more of a disgrace to the Democratic Party than anything Blago ever thought of doing.

[Doremus]

29. Interesting how Dems seem to always get double-digit sentences.

How many months of his 36-mo sentence did Tom Delay ever serve (if any)?

How about Jack Abramoff and his 48-month sentence?

Duke Cunningham?

Ted Stevens?

Tom Noe? Bob Taft? Bob Ney?


This is bullshit.

[No Elephants]

40. It's tough out there for a Democrat who rejects Pub Lite!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Madigan

[go west young man]

31. Yet all those no bid contracts Cheney gave out for Iraq were on the up and up?

How many millions did that asshole award himself through Halliburton? Man this country is fucked.
Where were those FBI wiretappers then? Oh yeah they were busy doing Cheney's handywork.

[No Elephants]

41. Here's a couple of tidbits about Blago's enemy,

Chair of the Illinois Democrat Party, long time Speaker of the Illinois House of Reps AND practicing attorney, Michael J. Madigan. (No potential conflicts among those careers, is there--and I know he works full time at each of them.)



"Law practice
Madigan was founder and continues as senior partner of the law firm Madigan & Getzendanner.<1> Which has been accused of profiting millions" off of Madigan's position and power.<3> http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-madigan-rules-justice-20100925,0,7476955.story

<snip>


"In 2002, Madigan helped his daughter Lisa garner more campaign contributions in her run for Illinois Attorney General than even the candidates for governor that year.<16> At one point, Lisa Madigan's $1.2 million raised was more than all the attorney general candidates in 1998 had raised, combined.<16>

During the campaign, allegations of misconduct in campaign contributions arose—Madigan was accused of using taxpayer dollars for political purposes.<1> Republican gubernatorial candidate, Jim Ryan, suggested that Madigan should resign.<1> Madigan's daughter Lisa was running for state Attorney General during that year's election and called the allegations baseless.<1> Lisa Madigan's opponent in the race called on her to pay back taxpayer-paid bonuses her father had paid staffers before they departed to work on his daughter's campaign.<17> A federal investigation into one of Lisa Madigan's political endorsements ensued after Madigan allegedly contacted a union boss in Chicago shortly before the union endorsed Madigan's daughter for the post, "