Blagojevich sentenced to 14 years in prison

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison.

Blagojevich was convicted on 18 of 20 counts of public corruption related to trying to ransom President Obama’s former Senate seat.

In 2008, Blagojevich was responsible for picking a replacement to Obama’s Illinois seat when he was elected president.

Just prior to U.S. District Judge James Zagel’s ruling, Blagojevich said he accepted the jury’s guilty verdict. He also said that he did not know he was breaking the law at the time.

“I never set out to break the law,” Blagojevich said according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “The jury decided I was guilty, I am accepting of it, I acknowledge it.”

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who now holds the seat, said the ruling was a referendum on public corruption.

“Judge Zagel’s sentence is a clear warning to all elected officials that public corruption of any form will not be tolerated,” he said. “Illinois families have long suffered from an estimated $500 million hidden corruption tax. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has done a great service to Illinois by bringing two criminal governors to justice.”

Kirk won a special election to fill Obama’s seat.

Kirk, who advocated a “tough sentence” for Blagojevich, has pushed for new legislation canceling the federal pensions of lawmakers convicted of committing public corruption crimes.

Kirk’s colleague, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) issued the same statement he did when Blagojevich was convicted.

“I hope today’s sentencing finally draws this sad chapter in Illinois history to a close,” Durbin said.

The ousted governor said he had nobody to blame for the court’s ruling.

“I have nobody to blame but myself for my stupidity and actions and the things I did and I thought I could do. I’m not blaming anybody,” Blagojevich added.

He is ordered to report to prison on February 16.

—This story was last updated at 4:15 p.m.

—Alicia M. Cohn contributed.