-By Warner Todd Huston
I won’t waste too much time on this — still it is something that should be put on record here at the blog — but former Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich has been sentenced to 168 moths, 14 years, in federal prison for his corruption.
In his statement before sentencing, Blagojevich apologized for his “unintended” actions, and said that as governor he should have known better. Rod even had his kids plea for leniency. Judge Zagel didn’t seem to think that the ex-guv’s apology was sufficient enough to lighten the sentence, however.
Sadly, the baneful influence of Blagojevich isn’t over just because he is now headed to prison. “The people that enabled him, all these guys are still in power,” GOP Chairman Pat Brady lamented on WLS radio after the verdict was announced. “As long as you have Mike Madigan and his absentee Attorney General daughter Lisa in office none of these problems will be fixed,” he said.
The Illinois Policy Institute also notes that Blago’s destructive “fiscal legacy is alive and well.”
Rod Blagojevich’s tenure as governor of Illinois will have a lasting effect on the state’s reputation and fiscal condition. From January 2003 to January 2009, Blagojevich made headlines for his sensational comments, political feuds and backroom deals. After being arrested in December 2008 on charges of political corruption, the Legislature removed him from office the following month. He since has been convicted on federal criminal charges.
See the full Ill. Policy Institute report HERE.
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, RightPundits.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, AmericanDaily.com, among many, many others. Mr. Huston is also endlessly amused that one of his articles formed the basis of an article in Germany’s Der Spiegel Magazine in 2008.
For a full bio, please CLICK HERE.