CHICAGO _ A federal judge imposed the same 14-year prison sentence on former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich Tuesday despite pleas for mercy from the former governor, his wife and two daughters.
The decision appeared to stun Blagojevich, who was looking on by closed-circuit television from a federal prison in Colorado. As the hearing came to an end, he shook his head and brushed his mouth with his hand as he collapsed back into his seat, saying something inaudible.
Inside the courtroom, both of his daughters burst into tears.
"He stole my childhood," Blagojevich's oldest daughter, Amy, said a short time later as she gestured toward the bench. U.S. District Judge James Zagel had left the courtroom by then.
Later, in the courthouse lobby, Blagojevich's wife, Patti, told reporters: "Quite frankly, I'm dumbfounded and flabbergasted" that he received the same sentence.
Zagel said Blagojevich still stood guilty of the same corruption despite the ruling by a federal appeals court last year throwing out five of the 18 counts for which he was convicted.
The judge said he realized the suffering of Blagojevich's family and applauded Blagojevich for being a model prisoner, but he said the former governor's conduct in prison over the last 4 { years was not as big of a factor as the wrongdoing he committed while in office.
The decision means Blagojevich, 59, won't be released from prison until May 2024, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Blagojevich apologized at his resentencing moments after he grew emotional as one of his two daughters read a statement in court in which she called him "an amazing father."
"I recognize it was my actions and my words that led me here," Blagojevich said.
But prosecutors were not impressed, saying Blagojevich had not changed and urging Zagel to impose the same 14-year sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Bonamici emphasized that Blagojevich apologized for making "mistakes" but said he has never taken responsibility for the crimes he was convicted of or shown true remorse.
Speaking without notes, Blagojevich said he had been too ambitious and recognized he erred by fighting too many battles in public.
"This can be a beginning to make amends for the past," he said while looking directly into the camera.
The former governor said it pains him that his actions have hurt his family and blamed himself for putting his loved ones in that situation.
He said his time behind bars "has put me closer to God."
"I'm a very different person," he said, concluding his remarks.
Moments earlier, Annie Blagojevich told Zagel she talks every night with her father by phone. Blagojevich wept as his daughter made her statement.
Amy Blagojevich, also spoke in court, saying it was difficult to stay connected with her dad or even to have private conversations with him during visits to prison.
The remarks came after Blagojevich's wife made an emotional plea to the judge Monday night by letter.
"Please give Annie the chance for a normal happy childhood, that has slipped away from Amy," Patti Blagojevich wrote of the couple's two children. "I am pleading with you, indeed begging you, to please be merciful."
Blagojevich's lawyer, arguing for a lower prison sentence, portrayed the former governor as a changed man, a model prisoner who no longer holds "the arrogance and anger" he once did.
Attorney Leonard Goodman was the first to speak as Blagojevich looked on via videoconference. The first images of Blagojevich confirmed rumors: He is now gray-haired.
A federal appeals court ordered the resentencing last year after dismissing some of the counts on which Blagojevich was convicted.
Goodman told the judge that the remaining charges against the ex-governor are "significantly different," emphasizing that Blagojevich never profited from his actions. He paid for his own clothes, his daughters' schooling, even baseball tickets, the lawyer said.
"We believe he is ready to come home," Goodman said in urging the judge to reduce Blagojevich's sentence to five years in prison.
In her letter to the judge on the eve of resentencing, Patti Blagojevich said her husband calls every night from prison and that the family has visited him more than 20 times during his years in custody.
