Carrying on the Illinois tradition, Rod Blagojevich is going to jail. Today, the ousted governor was sentenced to 14 years, stemming from 17 felony corruption convictions. The Democrat infamously got busted for attempting to sell President Obama's vacated Senate seat.
Before the sentencing, Blagojevich apologized for his conduct. He said, "I have nobody to blame for my stupidity and actions, words, things that I did, that I thought I could do."
While Blagojevich seemed remorseful, the court didn't buy his argument he was a victim of naivety and manipulations.
"The governor was not marched along this criminal path by his staff," said Judge James Zengel. "He marched them along."
Unfortunately, the image of a convicted corrupt politician is all too familiar for people in the Prairie State. Blago, who won two terms before getting impeached and booted from office, now becomes the fourth former governor of Illinois to go to prison in recent memory. His sentence was just shy of the 15-20 years federal prosecutors requested.
The irony of the situation is accentuated by the fact he campaigned on the promise that he would clean up the corruption in the governor's office. His predecessor, former Gov. George Ryan, is currently serving six and a half years behind bars on corruption charges.
— By Skivjana Neza