Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison Dec. 7 for 18 felony convictions.
The sentence also includes a $20,000 fine.
The convictions were a result of Blagojevich trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat once occupied by President Obama, shaking people down for campaign contributions and lying to federal agents.
At a brief post-sentencing press conference, he quoted the Rudyard Kipling poem "If" and said it was a time to fight for adversity. His wife, Patti, said that Blagojevich would not be taking questions.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel gave Blagojevich some time off his original sentence for taking responsibility for his actions; however, Zagel added that Blagojevich's mea culpa didn't lessen his crimes.
Blagojevich is the brother-in-law of Deb Mell, one of two out lesbian members of the state House. In a 2009 interview with Windy City Times, she defended being the only representative who voted against Blagojevich's impeachment: "I truly felt that a "yes" vote [to impeach] wasn't the vote to make. What's interesting is that people came up to me afterwards and [indicated] they were happy I did that. Then, I heard from people in my district. Not everyone thinks that Rod Blagojevich is guilty, especially in this district.
"The day I made that vote, the Rod I knew and the Rod they were talking about didn't match up."
In 2005, then-Gov. Blagojevich signed the gay-rights measure into law. The following year, he also signed laws to help strengthen protection for domestic-violence victims and increase compensation for hate-crime victims as well as extending domestic-partner benefits to state workers.