On December 23, 2008 our former Governor, Rod Balgojevich was arrested on corruption including the attempt to sell President Obama's old senate seat. According to the Chicago Tribune, the former Governer was elected to end the corruption in Illinois that former Governor George Ryan started, who was convicted of corruption. Of course we know now that Blagojevich will be going to prison for 14 years. It does not sound like that Rod completed his goal. It sounds more like he made it worse.
According to the Huff Post, Blagojevich's trial first began on June 3, 2010. This ended up becoming a very long trial that lasted several months. Several jurors may have known the guilt of Blagojevich, but unless the information presented in court is enough for a guilty verdict, then Blagojevich remains not guilty. In my opinion, it would be a tough job for me, and probably for anyone, to be a juror for this trial. This is because we have been watching our former governor drag our state through hell and corruption through his terrible legacy as governor. That is something that many jurors cannot put behind them to make it a fair trial. Not to mention that throughout the trial, Blagojevich continued to lie and stick with his rediculous lies. The jury, for sure, knew how pathetic the words were coming out of the former governors mouth.
A blog by Natasha Korecki states the quote that Judge Zagel said to Rod Blagojevich. "In the United States, we don't much govern at gunpoint," Zagel said.
It doesn't pay to lie, cheat, and steal. In fact it cost the former governor a lot of money and more importantly time. He loses 14 years of his life to spend taking care of his family and being a father to his daughters because he will rot in prison. The moral of Mr. Blagojevich's story is to never challenge the authority of the United States court system. The plea bargaining for a white collar crime like this were probably worth a lot less than 14 years in prison. A more important way to look at this is, what kind of shape would the state of Illinois be in if Blagojevich had never been elected? We will never know as we can't change the past, but people now realize to never fully trust the high power of our Illinois government. In this case, the criminal justice system worked well for our state. Future leaders of our state, and any other business, now know to not use their position benefit their personal life. Instead to fix the damage of our state and make it the prosperous state it should be.
According to the Huff Post, Blagojevich's trial first began on June 3, 2010. This ended up becoming a very long trial that lasted several months. Several jurors may have known the guilt of Blagojevich, but unless the information presented in court is enough for a guilty verdict, then Blagojevich remains not guilty. In my opinion, it would be a tough job for me, and probably for anyone, to be a juror for this trial. This is because we have been watching our former governor drag our state through hell and corruption through his terrible legacy as governor. That is something that many jurors cannot put behind them to make it a fair trial. Not to mention that throughout the trial, Blagojevich continued to lie and stick with his rediculous lies. The jury, for sure, knew how pathetic the words were coming out of the former governors mouth.
A blog by Natasha Korecki states the quote that Judge Zagel said to Rod Blagojevich. "In the United States, we don't much govern at gunpoint," Zagel said.
"We require willing ... participation. This happens most easily when people trust the person at the top to do the right thing most of the time and more important than that to try to do it most of the time. When a state senator takes a bribe, that's one person out of 59. You are not to be compared with those who hold lesser positions in government. You, as a governor are seen to control all of them, though I concede in practice you don't....When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily or quickly repaired. You did that damage."It is certain with all of the problems in our state, that Mr. Hot Rod is just a typical Illinois governor along with George Ryan. When people are at high authority, they carry a great responsibility that is owed to the people. Wanting to be governor, or any leader of any sort, is wanting to make the people around you successful and give a guidance along the way to success. Mr. Blagojevich only destroyed the whole idea of leadership. He took the great responsibility that he owed to the people and used it to only benefit himself and his family. This is simply a sign of selfishness and irresponsibility. This irresponsibility and selfishness only led to his arrest and 14 years in prison.
It doesn't pay to lie, cheat, and steal. In fact it cost the former governor a lot of money and more importantly time. He loses 14 years of his life to spend taking care of his family and being a father to his daughters because he will rot in prison. The moral of Mr. Blagojevich's story is to never challenge the authority of the United States court system. The plea bargaining for a white collar crime like this were probably worth a lot less than 14 years in prison. A more important way to look at this is, what kind of shape would the state of Illinois be in if Blagojevich had never been elected? We will never know as we can't change the past, but people now realize to never fully trust the high power of our Illinois government. In this case, the criminal justice system worked well for our state. Future leaders of our state, and any other business, now know to not use their position benefit their personal life. Instead to fix the damage of our state and make it the prosperous state it should be.
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