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No sympathy for Blago, but penalty too harsh

Rod Blagojevich is not a very sympathetic figure. When I think of his fall from grace, I think of a loudmouthed braggart who was way too full of himself when governor of Illinois.

He annoyingly plastered his name across all of the Illinois toll stations, just in case we forgot who he was. Yup, old loudmouthed Blago got what was coming to him, first he was impeached and removed from office, and now he sits in a federal prison for the next 12 years. He sure got what he deserved … right?

I am not an attorney, but as I understand it, Blago didn't personally profit one red cent from his strong arm attempts to garner campaign donations. Evidently, what he did was previously considered legal until the law governing campaign soliciting was changed. I have no doubt that Blago violated the law, and some punishment was appropriate. But 14 years? Really? Think about that, 14 years! That is well beyond what many violent criminals serve.

The 14 year sentence was reaffirmed by the presiding judge earlier this month. His options for early release are rapidly evaporating. There is a clemency petition circulating the internet presently requesting that President Obama intervene. The minimum number of signatures to move the petition forward is 100,000 and that number must be reached by Sept. 9. As of this writing, 1,201 signatures have been submitted, leaving the balance of 98,799 to be achieved within the next couple of weeks. This seems highly unlikely to me, making it more and more certain that Blago will need to complete his entire sentence.

Rod Blagojevich is not a very likable, sympathetic figure. Yet for some reason, this seems very unjust and wrong to me.

Greg Newlin

Naperville

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