Illinois GOP delegation asks Trump not to commute Blagojevich's sentence
By Avery Anapol - 06/11/18 07:44 PM EDT
Illinois Republicans are pleading with President Trump not to grant clemency to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The state’s GOP delegation in Washington signed a letter to Trump saying that clemency for the imprisoned Democrat would harm their efforts to combat corruption in the state.
“To now excuse him would be demoralizing to those committed agents and officials who work hard every day in Illinois to fight public corruption and defend the rule of law,†the group wrote, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Blagojevich is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence on a variety of corruption charges, including trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat after he was elected president, a sentence that Trump has called “unfair.â€
Trump said earlier this month that he was considering granting clemency to Blagojevich, as well as pardoning Martha Stewart. Trump has made several pardons in recent weeks.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/391741-illinois-republican-delegation-asks-trump-not-to-pardon-blagojevich
