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House Speaker Shares Take On Dismissed Blagojevich Convictions

Michael Madigan / Rod Blagojevich
WBEZ / WTTW

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is feuding over the state budget with Gov. Bruce Rauner now. But eight years ago, the summer stalemate was with the now-imprisoned, then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

An appeals court tossed some of Blagojevich's corruption convictions yesterday. Madigan says he hasn't read the whole opinion; just the final paragraph.

"It seems to say that Mr. Blagojevich will remain as a guest of the United States government, rather than coming back to Illinois," Madigan said.

Blagojevich began serving his 14-year prison sentence in March of 2012; he's projected to be released in 2024. While the appellate court says evidence against Blagojevich was overwhelming, it nonetheless found five counts invalid.

There's a chance that could lead to a reduced sentence.

Madigan didn't initially have much to say about Blagojevich's legacy for Illinois:

"I guess at minimum it was interesting, right?” Madigan said with a laugh. “At a minimum, it was interesting; always something to think about, and something to do. At a minimum."

When pressed, he went on to say that Blagojevich was responsible for a lot of overspending during his time as governor.

The Speaker says that's why Illinois needs to focus on what he says is the state's number one problem: the budget deficit.

Amanda Vinicky moved to Chicago Tonight on WTTW-TV PBS in 2017.