Should Trump commute Blagojevich’s sentence? Rauner weighs in during local stop.

Gov. Bruce Rauner said on Tuesday during a news conference that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is "where he belongs."

Rauner was in East St. Louis to announce $241 million worth of freight mobility projects, including one involving the Terminal Railroad Association, when he was asked about the possibility of President Donald Trump commuting the sentence of Blagojevich, the former Democratic governor who was impeached, removed from office and convicted in federal court of corruption charges.

“Blagojevich’s case and behavior has been reviewed by judges, many judges including supreme court, by legal experts, many attorneys, they’ve all come to the conclusion that Blagojevich is where he belongs, and he should stay where he’s at. I’ll leave it at that," Rauner said.

On Tuesday, Rauner's re-election campaign released a new 30-second television advertisement, which features part of an FBI wiretap conversation between Blagojevich and J.B. Pritzker, who is the 2018 Democratic nominee for governor.

In the wiretap, Pritzker and Blagojevich are joking about appointing the Rev. Jeremiah Wright to Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat.

Last week, Trump said he is considering commuting Blagojevich's 14-year sentence for trying to gain personal benefit when filling Obama's U.S. Senate seat in 2009.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who is the Democratic whip in the Senate, said yesterday he would support shortening Blagojevich's sentence.

This story was originally published June 5, 2018 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Should Trump commute Blagojevich’s sentence? Rauner weighs in during local stop.."