Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich should get as little as five years in prison when he is resentenced on sweeping corruption charges next month, a move that would see him released from custody in months, his lawyers said in a court filing late Monday.
Federal prosectors, meanwhile, asked U.S. District Judge James Zagel to reinstate his original 14-year sentence for the former governor, writing in a filing posted one minute before the midnight deadline that public corruption must be deterred or it will continue to spread.
"Public officials who gain from corrupt deals are incentivized to do more, and successes inspire other public officials to see if they can do it too," federal prosecutors wrote.
Blagojevich has served more than four years in a federal prison in Colorado for misusing his powers as governor in an array of shakedown schemes, most famously for his alleged attempts to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama after his 2008 election as president.
In March, the Supreme Court declined to hear Blagojevich's appeal of his 14-year prison sentence. A federal appeals court last year dismissed several counts against the former governor and ordered he be resentenced, but the three-judge panel called the evidence against him "overwhelming" and made it clear Zagel's original sentence was not out of bounds. Blagojevich is scheduled to be resentenced Aug. 9.
Blagojevich's lawyer, Leonard Goodman, told the Tribune earlier this year that he hoped Zagel would recognize that the 7th Circuit had dismissed some of the charges that specifically dealt with Blagojevich's attempt to trade the Senate seat for a Cabinet post or other benefit for himself.
"These charges were the centerpiece of the case, the ones that would have Abraham Lincoln rolling over in his grave," said Goodman, paraphrasing the words of then-U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald after Blagojevich was hit with the bombshell charges in 2008.
Goodman has also said the ex-governor, known for his love of history, had been keeping busy behind bars by teaching Civil War history and other classes to fellow inmates. Blagojevich has also been singing in a prison band, The Jailhouse Rockers, although the band took a hiatus after the lead guitar player was released from custody.
Blagojevich's activities behind bars could become a focal point of his resentencing. As part of his filing Wednesday, Goodman included letters from more than 100 inmates in the Littleton, Colo., prison camp describing Blagojevich as kind, a mentor and a man with the utmost respect for the law.
"To forgive and not hold resentment is not an easy thing to do," wrote one inmate, identified by his initials F.H. "Rod has taught me that it only harms myself to be bitter about my circumstance. He has taught me that the 'wheels of justice' do turn, even at times if justice seems slow in coming."
While Zagel could simply let his original sentence stand, many legal experts believe the judge will recognize the dismissal of some of the counts by shaving off some time.
Blagojevich, 59, has been incarcerated in a federal prison in suburban Denver since March 2012 and is not eligible to be released until May 2024, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
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