Durbin Supports Shorter Sentence For Blagojevich, Calls 14 Years ‘Outrageous’
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin speaks to reporters in this 2017 file photo. Brian Mackey/NPR Illinois
Illinois U.S. Sen, Dick Durbin says Rod Blagojevich should have gotten a shorter prison sentence.
Ever since last week, when President Trump said he was thinking about commuting the former governor’s sentence, many Illinois politicians have refused to talk about it.
That’s what current Gov. Bruce Rauner did Monday.
But Durbin was unequivocal.
“I think that the sentence that was imposed on Rod Blagojevich was definitely way too long. Fourteen years? It didn’t make sense,” Durbin told reporters in Chicago.
“Not commenting on whether he was culpable or guilty — that was decided by the courts. But I thought the sentence was outrageous, and if there is a way to reduce that sentence for him and his family, I would support it,” Durbin said.
Blegojevich has been in prison for about six years, and isn’t scheduled for release until May 2024.
He and Trump have had a few past connections: Trump twice donated to Blagojevich’s campaign fund, and the former governor was a contestant on Trump’s reality TV show The Celebrity Apprentice.
Links
- Supreme Court Again Refuses To Hear Blagojevich Appeal
- Appeals Court Denies Blagojevich Request For 3rd Sentencing
- Blagojevich Seeks Presidential Commutation Of Prison Term
- Blagojevich Receives Same 14-Year Prison Sentence In Resentencing Hearing On Corruption Charges
- Will Blagojevich Get A Shorter Sentence?
- High Court Rejects Blagojevich Appeal In Corruption Case