Illinois Republicans condemn Trump's Blagojevich pardon

(Image credit: Al Drago/Getty Images)

President Trump's own party isn't taking the news that he commuted former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's prison sentence Tuesday very well.

After Trump issued the executive order, five House Republicans from Illinois — Reps. Darin Lahood (R-Il.), John Shimkus (R-Il.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Il.), Rodney Davis (R-Il.), and Mike Bost (R-Il.) — condemned the move in a letter. They called Blagojevich the "face of public corruption in Illinois" and said they believed his 14-year sentence for essentially selling political appointments when he was governor was "appropriate" and "fair."

The news has been received with similar frostiness at the state level. The Republican leader in the Illinois House, State Rep. Jim Durkin, said Blagojevich abused his office, and Trump's decision shows the president isn't concerned about Illinois' vote in the 2020 November election, which — considering Illinois generally leans heavily blue — is probably not far off. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.