Illinois’s Republican congressional delegation criticized President Trump’s decision Tuesday to commute former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D) sentence, saying he is “the face of public corruption” in the state.
“We are disappointed by the president’s commutation of Rod Blagojevich’s federal sentence. We believe he received an appropriate and fair sentence, which was the low end of the federal sentencing guidelines for the gravity of his public corruption convictions,” wrote Reps. Darin LaHood, John Shimkus, Adam Kinzinger, Rodney Davis and Mike Bost.
Blagojevich was removed from office in 2009 and was later convicted on corruption charges, including trying to sell former President Obama’s Senate seat after he was elected to the White House in 2008. The former governor began serving a 14-year prison sentence in 2012.
“Blagojevich is the face of public corruption in Illinois, and not once has he shown any remorse for his clear and documented record of egregious crimes that undermined the trust placed in him by voters,” the GOP lawmakers said. “As our state continues to grapple with political corruption, we shouldn’t let those who breached the public trust off the hook.”
Illinois House Republican leader Jim Durkin also denounced the commutation, saying on Twitter, “We have a massive federal investigation into corruption in the state of Illinois and this action distracts and dilutes what I think is the proper role of the Department of Justice — to root out corruption … I don’t agree.”
Announcing the commutation of Blagojevich, a onetime “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant, Trump cited in part his wife Patti’s frequent TV appearances urging for clemency and called Blagojevich’s sentence “a tremendously powerful, ridiculous sentence in my opinion, and in the opinion of many others.”