* The US Attorney’s office has suggested that Rod Blagojevich be sentenced to 15-20 years in federal prison…
Over the course of a relatively brief period of time, during his machinations surrounding the appointment of a United States Senator, and the shakedowns of hospital and racetrack executives, the defendant revealed his corrupt, criminal character. But, as the evidence and Blagojevich’s conduct at his trials established, these were not isolated incidents. They were part and parcel of an approach to public office that defendant adopted from the moment he became governor in 2002. In light of Blagojevich’s extensive corruption of high office, the damage he caused to the integrity of Illinois government, and the need to deter others from similar acts, the government suggests a sentence of 15 to 20 years imprisonment is sufficient but not greater than necessary to comply with § 3553.
* The government also claims that Blagojevich still refuses to accept responsibility for his actions…
The defendant’s version submitted to the Probation Department goes on at length in an attempt to relitigate the facts of this case, at times even presenting versions of facts that are at odds with Blagojevich’s trial testimony. In providing a spin on events thoroughly rejected by the jury, Blagojevich does nothing to shed light on the circumstances of his criminal activity other than demonstrate his refusal to accept responsibility for his crimes.
* And his good works as governor shouldn’t count for anything on his behalf…
His accomplishments as governor are far outweighed by the personal greed that infected his acts and his administration.
* Prosecutors also want to deter future corruption…
Sadly, Illinois has a history of corruption in government. The sentences imposed on previous criminals for public corruption crimes were not sufficient to dissuade Blagojevich from engaging in a myriad of criminal acts. Indeed, the governor prior to Blagojevich was sentenced to approximately six and a half years in prison. The six and a half year sentence did nothing to stop Blagojevich, as the very next governor, from engaging in significant and ongoing bribery, extortion, and fraud. A significant sentence is necessary to deter current and future public officials from engaging in Blagojevich-like criminal activity.
* They claim they could have asked for 30 years to life…
In the instant case, the properly-calculated Sentencing Guidelines recommend a sentencing range of 360 months to life.
* And that has one Springfield defense attorney upset…
“I’m absolutely dumbfounded that they wouldn’t be looking for a sentence of 30 years or more,” said attorney Jon Gray Noll.
“In the Central District of Illinois, at least the judges I practice before, the judges would stay within the 30 years to life range unless there was a valid reason for a downward departure,” Noll said, adding that the clients he defends who are accused of drug crimes would not receive any leniency from federal prosecutors.
“The guidelines have a purpose, to ensure uniformity throughout the system. In this high-profile case, for them to reduce this guys’ sentence by almost half, I don’t understand it in light of the other policies they slam on anyone else.”
* But…
If Rod Blagojevich goes to prison within the 15- to 20-year range that federal prosecutors recommended to a judge Wednesday, the former governor would potentially face more time behind bars than three previously convicted Illinois governors combined.
He would also face a stiffer sentence than mob murderer and key cooperator Nicholas Calabrese, whom the same judge handling Blagojevich’s case, U.S. District Judge James Zagel, sent to prison for 12 years, five months.
Calabrese cooperated, which lowered his sentence.
* The defense’s response…
One of Blagojevich’s attorneys, Carolyn Gurland, said the government wants Blagojevich to pay for the sins of all corrupt Illinois politicos. “The government wants Blagojevich to pay for all of the political corruption in the history of the state of Illinois,” Gurland said. “But under the law, defendants are to be sentenced as individuals, not symbols or sound bites.”
The defense had said it would seek probation, but Wednesday it only asked Zagel to sentence Blagojevich below a range of 3½ to a bit more than 4 years.
More…
The gulf between the two sides could hardly be wider. Prosecutors called for Blagojevich to be sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison, potentially the toughest sentence in Chicago’s long, sad history of public corruption. In contrast, the defense, which for weeks has said it will seek probation, beseeched Zagel to impose a compassionate sentence, calling him a tragic figure.
In their 72-page filing Wednesday evening, Blagojevich’s lawyers ignored the verdicts of two separate juries to paint the former governor as an “innocent” who had no idea he was breaking the law by trading favors for campaign contributions and was betrayed by scheming advisers.
“He chose advisers poorly as it turned out and regrets those choices profoundly,” the defense wrote.
That would seem to be a risky strategy with Zagel, who at times has made clear his disdain for Blagojevich’s antics and excuses. […]
Much of Blagojevich’s filing, however, seemed to be yet another long argument of his innocence.
The defense argued that “a full and fair analysis” of undercover recordings in the case would reveal Blagojevich “sincerely believed that his actions were proper under the law as he understood it at the time.”
The hearing starts next Tuesday.
* Related…
* Tribune seeks to have Cellini hearing in open court
* Blagojevich lowers asking price on home
* Brown: Prosecutors seek too high a sentence for Blagojevich
- Newsclown - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 8:25 am:
Potentially, Rod will be a grandpa when he gets out. To me, that’s the harshest part of the sentence: those daughters will grow up essentially without him as a father.
Did he earn enough time to come out a man in his seventies? I lean towards “yes”, but I expect Zagel will throttle it down to 15 years, out in 10-12. Rod will probably stay outside during the appeals process, which I totally oppose. I think he should get remanded right out of the courtroom.
I promise you this: Rod still doesn’t really “get it”, and won’t - until the cell door closes on his face.
- OneMan - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 8:25 am:
If he gets 15 or more do they take him into custody immediately?
Also I like the complaint about tourists showing up in front of his house, if he wasn’t a reality TV, autograph show clown I suspect he wouldn’t have had that problem.
- Dan Shields, Springfield, IL - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 8:34 am:
Newsclown, he should have been remanded when he was convicted. Rezco sat for 3 years awaiting sentenceing and he didn’t showboat. Blagoof needs to be locked up and shut up ASAP.
- Excessively Rabid - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 8:41 am:
==his good works as governor shouldn’t count for anything on his behalf==
He appointed Kevin Stine poet laureate. What other good works did he do? Everything was for his benefit, and everything was paid for with our money. But I’m feeling generous. Like the ghosts in Hamlet, he should get one day a year off for his one good deed.
- x ace - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 8:43 am:
Lawyer Noll makes a very valid point, but it is not new or unique.
Crime has always been cheaper in Chicago. Would guess that Murder sentences in small rural counties might be double, or maybe even more, than the prison time imposed in Chicago.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 8:44 am:
–In their 72-page filing Wednesday evening, Blagojevich’s lawyers ignored the verdicts of two separate juries to paint the former governor as an “innocent” who had no idea he was breaking the law by trading favors for campaign contributions and was betrayed by scheming advisers.–
These guys are really asking for it.
From Day One, with the ridiculous media appearances, press conferences, public statements, reality shows and perjured testimony, Blago’s been double-dog-daring Zagel to throw the book at him.
That probably was not a good strategy, especially post-conviction. A little remorse and humility might have shaved a few years off the sentence.
He’s going down hard.
- Way Way Down Here - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 8:48 am:
Anyone know where to find the defense filing?
- Sue - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 8:52 am:
15 years seems excessive- Blago’s conduct and stupidity was and is excessive but anything more then 10 years seems like overkill- perhaps any additional time can be considered as punishment for leaving us with Quinn
- Stones - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 8:54 am:
My original prediction was 10 - 15 years and I’ll stand by that. Hopefully this will be some sort of deterrent for officeholders in the future to prevent this type of conduct but I doubt it.
- Shore - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 8:57 am:
way down-the prosecutions was posted to the chicagotribune website, I would assume they would have defense there.
- Way Way Down Here - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 9:02 am:
Thanks, I have found numerous links to the prosecution’s recommendation, but not the defense filing. I’ll keep searching.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 9:05 am:
Mark Brown is right in his column today.
Blago was always going to get more than Ryan, but 15 or 20 for a white collar crime is almost unprecedented. Blago’s cluelessness and double-daring the judge will earn him some extra time, but not an extra 5 or 10 years. 10-12 is the correct range, after Rezko’s sentence. (8-11 would probably have done it before the Rezko sentence.)
The Government probably knows this, so it asked for 15-20 to give the judge room to appear slightly compassionate and fair.
- He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 9:05 am:
He will never take responsibility for his own actions. 15 years is a good sentence. It may take that long to get him out of our memory.
- The Captain - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 9:08 am:
This guy got 12 years. Let’ try and keep things in perspective here.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 9:50 am:
@newsclown - Rod blocked his daughters from seeing their own grandmother while she was dying because of a political grudge. Any suggestion that separating him from his kids is punishment is absurd. To him, they are just more pawns.
- Original Rambler - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 10:03 am:
YDD, where did you get that from? I don’t think that’s true. It’s OK to dump on RRB for his official misgivings but that is over the top.
- OneMan - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 10:16 am:
Rich I get why you nuked the link, sorry
- Joe from Joliet - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 10:22 am:
“Symbols and Sound Bites”
There’s a good title for a Blago biography. It will be interesting to read about the ‘good things’ he did for IL taxpayers.
- Ghost of John Brown - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 10:24 am:
If you really want to punish Rod, don’t let him have a comb or hair gel in prison.
- Louis Howe - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 10:24 am:
Mark Brown pretty much said all I would say about the issue. Rod’s paid a heavy price already and ten more years in a Fed prison on top of the last three years of media hell should be enough. I really think Rod has a mental issue which continues to drive his actions. Call it an extreme case of denial or narcissism, whatever, he’s not right in the head. Any jail time is going to be extremely painful for him.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 10:26 am:
===on top of the last three years of media hell should be enough===
Keep in mind that he had a big hand in creating his own media hell. He shouldn’t get a break for that.
- Louis Howe - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 10:44 am:
Rich…I fully agree that Rod’s behavior drove much of the media attention, however, in many ways, how did that turn out for him. It wasn’t rational behavior. In fact, in retrospect, his strongest defense would have been to plead mental illness, and ask for mercy from the court. Perhaps, he’s not legally insane, but he is definitely not competent, as his nearly 6 years as Governor proved.
- Really? - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 11:04 am:
Excessively Rabid -
One good thing Blagojevich did, and no one can take this away from him, was he stood up to then-Missouri Gov. Blunt and insisted the new Mississippi River Bridge in St Louis be toll free. Missouri, for reasons too long to go into here, pleaded poverty, said they couldn’t afford to pay their portion of the bridge, and wanted the bridge to be a toll bridge.
Every toll bridge crossing the Mississippi at St. Louis has eventually defaulted on it’s bonds.
To his credit, Blagojevich stood his ground, and the new bridge will be a free bridge. It may be the only thing, but at least he got that one right.
- dupage dan - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 11:20 am:
Rezko got 10+ prison term. For RB to get anything less sends the wrong messge. 30 - life is too much - the judge won’t go for it. 15-20 seems a more reasonable request. I don’t think he’ll get 20, more like 10-15. I’d be ok with that. Gotta send a STRONG message to the political elite in this state. Ryan’s sentence apparently didn’t do that. Gotta up the ante.
- Bman - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 12:14 pm:
Blagojevich isn’t paying for the sins of all the Illinois politicos, he’s paying for his own sins. As for all the other corupt politicians they should be convicted on their own merit. But prisons are already overcrowded.
- D.P. Gumby - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 12:59 pm:
Noll’s point just demonstrates how absurd U.S. sentencing is. Sending people to jail for 30+ years is ridiculous for crimes that do not include physical harm. U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the Western world w/ no civilized reason. Sending Rezko or Blago or Ryan to jail for more than 5 years is a stupid waste of taxpayer money the same way sending pot possession to jail at all is stupid. Even 150 years for Madoff would be absurd if it wasn’t irrelevant to his actual life span. It is clear from the Prosecutor’s filing that they are on a vendetta against Blago for demanding that they proof his guilt at trial rather than pleading guilty. This is a disturbing trend w/ the Feds–unless you cooperate we will make it worse for you regardless of your constitutional rights. One should not be punished for going to trial.
- steve schnorf - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 1:04 pm:
My foggy recollection from history class is that one of the reason’s England had to abandon public hangings, many of which were for pickpocketing, was that too many people were getting their pockets picked at the hangings. The whole concept of “if we make the penalty severe enough, people will stop doing this or that” is pretty suspect.
Again, my recollection from college soc and psych is that surety and rapidity of punishment are much more of a factor in modifying behavior than is severity. The feds approach of giving no penalties (or very light ones) long delayed to people who flip might be counterproductive.
I’m sure I’ll hear plenty about this, but I’m not going to feel we’ve done anything real meaningful if Gov Blagojevich spends 15 years in prison rather than one or two. He’s already severely punished, whether he knows it or not (and I suspect he knows it).
- Casual observer - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 1:38 pm:
I think he should get 10 years from the very point he freely and convincingly admits guilt and regret for the harm he has done to the citizens of Illinois and his family. So in effect he will get 20+ years.
- Cubs.fan2 - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 1:39 pm:
Yellow Dog Democrat “Rod blocked his daughters from seeing their grandmother while she was dying”.
YDD you are correct. Mell was banned & not allowed into the Blagojevich home-due to a political grudge. Mrs. Mell was welcomed & she would visit them- altho she was heartbroken that her husband was not included. But she did visit often…. Until her desease progressed to the point that she lost mobility and could no longer walk & contact with the grandkids stoppped. Mell threatened Rod with legal action to seek Grandparent visiting rights. That threat started Patti to drop Amy & Annie at the Mell home to spend occassional afternoons with their grandparents. After Mrs. Mell died, the visits stopped until soon after Rod’s arrest. Now Mr. Mell visits his grandkids often.
- Wensicia - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 1:58 pm:
He won’t admit to the crime or take responsibility for his actions, and he lied on the stand. I said 10 to 12, but it could be more.
- Observing - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 2:38 pm:
The prosecution probably wouldn’t be asking for 15 to 20 years had Rod not presented himself as Captain Reformer, then proceed to try to loot the the treasury.
- What planet is he from again? - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 4:01 pm:
“Blagojevich isn’t paying for the sins of all the Illinois politicos, he’s paying for his own sins.” I always cringe when I here LegisCritters talking up their “Tough On Crime” legislation that will “Send a Message to (insert type of criminal here.)!” Blago’s sentence shouldn’t “Send a Message” to anyone (except Blago himself of course), it should be based on his own misdeeds. With no legal experience or other facts to get in my way, I’m going to go low on the over/under and say 7 years, out in 5-1/2.
- Jechislo - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 6:44 pm:
I remember, as a State employee, the day Rod was sworn in. Word came down that it was going to be a “bloodbath” for all of those currently working for the State.
It was. He needlessly ruined a lot of good peoples lives. And enjoyed himself while doing it.
You reap what you sow.
I hope sitting in jail for 12 - 15 years gives him time to repent for the injustice he heaped on the State of Illinois and the destruction he left behind. But I wouldn’t count on it.
Good night Rod. And good riddance.
- Retired Non-Union Guy - Thursday, Dec 1, 11 @ 7:49 pm:
Even before Rod was sworn into office, it was obvious there was going to be a bloodbath. When the 2002 ERI was first offered in July, I initially decided to pass on it because I wasn’t ready to retire yet. When it was obvious in late October that Rod would most likely win the election, I changed my mind and turned in the paperwork … second best decision I ever made (best was marrying my wife).
Rod should get a year for every employee whose career / life he ruined; using that criteria, he should be released from prison in an millennium or two …
- Smitty Irving - Friday, Dec 2, 11 @ 5:05 am:
Retired Non-Union Guy
===== Rod should get a year for every employee whose career / life he ruined; using that criteria, he should be released from prison in an millennium or two … =====
Can we apply that same standard to George Ryan? When he was SOS there was two rounds of layoffs … and the layoffs were determined by loading illegally obtained SOS Personnel Records onto a Citizens For Ryan PC, where they were matched. SOS employees with no CFR purchases were laid off.
Can we use that standard to imprison Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar? Jim Thompson started the “term appointments” and ran an unconstitutional patronage system. Among his other errors, Jim Edgar ran a personnel system that violated Veteran’s Preference (until the Illinois Supreme Court stopped him), and asked the US Supreme Court to overturn the Rutan ruling on the grounds the State couldn’t figure out how to hire on merit.
Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander … .