* Of all the letters written on behalf of John Harris for his sentencing hearing, this one stood out for me the most…

Blagojevich’s longtime executive assistant, Mary Stewart, said he was “very difficult to work with and for” and “basically would wear a person down” — for instance, by peppering Harris with calls early in the morning, late at night and on weekends and holidays.

“Had the former governor just listened to John more, I just know in my heart that the outcome for the administration would have been better,” wrote Stewart, who also worked for Blagojevich when he was a state representative and congressman.

This statement could be said about a lot of people, including myself. Many of us tried to publicly and privately steer Rod Blagojevich toward a more sane, honest governance. He never listened to anyone but the voices in his own head, and the FBI surveillance tapes made that pretty clear.

And that’s really the answer to Patti Blagojevich’s question that she posted on her Facebook page after Harris was sentenced to 10 days in prison…

“I can’t help but wonder what planet we are on. 10 days vs. 5110 days, a sentence that is 51,100% higher than Rod. How do you explain that to your children?”

Harris was culpable, but he fully admitted wrongdoing, never pocketed any cash and he helped the government prosecute his former boss. Rod still won’t admit anything.

* Lon Monk was sentenced to two years in prison last week while I was on break. Some background…

Monk, who was a groomsman at Blagojevich’s wedding, admitted he helped shake down a racetrack owner for a hefty campaign contribution to Blagojevich. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and testified against Blagojevich in exchange for a recommendation from prosecutors of a two-year sentence rather than the maximum five years.

Monk was a key prosecution witness at Blagojevich’s two trials, telling jurors how he and Blagojevich tried to squeeze the racetrack owner for a $100,000 campaign contribution by threatening state action that would hurt the racing industry. Blagojevich withheld approval of legislation that the industry wanted pending the contribution.

Jurors even heard a conversation in which Rod Blagojevich is heard coaching Monk on how to ask track owner — and Monk lobbying client — John Johnston for the cash.

“Give us the money. One has nothing to do with the other,” Monk told Blagojevich he would tell Johnston, referring to the contribution and the legislation. “Give us the f—ing money.”

Eventually, Blagojevich signed the bill — after his arrest in December 2008. The contribution was never made. […]

While prosecutors never accused Harris of profiting personally, they have said that Monk did, accepting illicit $10,000 payments from former Blagojevich campaign fund-raiser Tony Rezko, slipped to him in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills.

Taking the money is what really made the difference here. Also, Monk initially refused to cooperate with the feds. Big mistake. The US Attorney is just too powerful a force to successfully resist in cases like these. Plus, Monk knew Blagojevich from way back. He should’ve known what he was in for. Harris was plucked from the Daley administration. I’m not sure he had a good idea what he was getting into when he took the job.

That being said, Harris was a Class A jerk as chief of staff. He made life miserable for a whole lot of people, both on his own accord and at Blagojevich’s command. But, I suppose, that’s not an imprisonable offense. If it was, I could think of a lot of folks who would still be behind bars.

* Related…

* Harris suffered plenty enough while on the job: For instance, Blagojevich wanted Illinois State Police troopers assigned to Chicago to help combat a crime wave in 2008. But he also wanted them clothed in special outfits that would identify them as part of this special unit. In other words, play dress up with real people in a potentially dangerous situation. Harris reportedly intervened and stopped the entire enterprise. Then there was the letter that outlined how Blagojevich wanted to fire his entire legal department because they lacked professionalism. Instead, he wanted to hire an unemployed attorney he met in line at a Starbucks to be the state’s chief legal counsel. What mature leader of a major state would want to install someone he met in line at a coffee shop as his state’s chief legal counsel?

* Sneed: Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is now serving his 14-year prison sentence at a federal penitentiary in Colorado, is expecting his first batch of visitors. The visitor’s list: Sneed is told attorneys Sam Adam and Sam Adam Jr., the father-son duet who represented Blago at his first federal corruption trial, will be Rocky Mountain bound at the end of the month. Familial fodder: “We are like family and my dad talks to him about twice a week,” Sam Adam Jr. tells Sneed. Father & son: “Before he [Blago] went to prison, my dad would literally talk to him four or five times a day,” said Adam Jr. “It had nothing to do with the case most of the time. They read the same books, are both history buffs . . . he’s the intellectual son my dad never had. I love that, it means I don’t have to read that stuff,” said Adam Jr., who plans to bring his 4-year-old son, Parker, on the trip.

* Illinois ranks high for fighting corruption: Illinois ranked tenth in the nation for fighting corruption, according to a recent study by the Center for Public Integrity… The study, part of the State Integrity Investigation, rated Illinois in terms of the systems it has in place to prevent and discourage political corruption. Randy Barrett, the center’s communications director, said although some of this year’s top-scoring states have a reputation of being corrupt in the past, the reforms they’ve created to guard against repeat offenses helped earn them high ranks. “We were not looking at corruption per se,” Barrett said. “We weren’t looking at individuals. We weren’t looking at convictions. We were looking at states’ systems to guard against corruption in the future.”

* Zorn: Fine Line: Unimaginatively venal and irrationally demanding… Frank Kruesi’s description of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in a letter to U.S. District Judge James Zagel regarding the sentencing of John Harris, Blagojevich’s one-time chief of staff.(CST)

* Bernard Schoenburg: Nix lands job on Biden’s re-election team

* Beavers holding legal defense fund-raiser at a McDonald’s