Ill GOP Chair Reacts to Blagojevich Sentencing

The head of the Illinois Republican Party says he hopes that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's 14-year prison sentence leads to reform and "fiscal sanity'' in Illinois.

GOP chairman Pat Brady says the former Democratic governor and those around him continued to burden Illinois citizens with financial mismanagement.

Brady says the sentence ends the "Blagojevich saga.'' A federal judge sentenced Blagojevich on Wednesday for corruption that included trying to sell or trade an appointment to the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

It's one of the stiffest penalties for corruption in a state with a history of crooked politics.

Blagojevich apologized for his crimes and asked the judge for mercy earlier Wednesday.