No rehearing for ex-Illinois Governor Blagojevich; appeal planned

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Monday refused to reconsider its recent decision upholding former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's corruption conviction and 14-year prison term. The order from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago likely ends Blagojevich's chance for a new trial or shorter sentence unless he can persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his case, a long shot. Leonard Goodman, a lawyer for Blagojevich, in an interview said his client will appeal to the Supreme Court. "The issues are important not just for Mr. Blagojevich and his family, which never used the office to enrich themselves--and yet he is serving one of the longest sentences issued to a governor--but also to every elected official who is not independently wealthy and has to raise campaign funds," Goodman said. In its April 21 decision, the appeals court rejected arguments that Blagojevich deserved leniency because of his good behavior during his five years in prison, and because parts of his original 2011 conviction had been thrown out. Prosecutors accused Blagojevich of soliciting campaign money in exchange for raising pediatric reimbursement rates and legislation supporting Illinois' horse racing industry. They said he also tried to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat that Barack Obama, a fellow Democrat, vacated after winning the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Blagojevich, 60, was convicted on charges including wire fraud, extortion and soliciting bribes while governor, a job he held from January 2003 to January 2009 before being removed from office. He is eligible for release from prison in May 2024. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Andrew Hay and Diane Craft)