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.