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Blagojevich surrender date delayed

By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 1:56 PM EST, Tue December 13, 2011
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich must report to prison March 15, a judge rules.
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich must report to prison March 15, a judge rules.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Former Illinois governor must report in March
  • Rod Blagojevich was found guilty of 17 corruption charges
  • The former governor was accused of trying to profit from Barack Obama's ex-Senate seat

(CNN) -- Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday won a one-month extension before he begins serving a 14-year prison term.

Blagojevich, convicted of corruption, must report March 15, U.S. District Judge James Zagel ruled, according to the U.S. attorney's office in the Northern District of Illinois. Blagojevich initially was to surrender February 16.

Blagojevich, 55, must also pay a $20,000 fine.

CNN affiliate WLS-TV in Chicago reported that the politician's attorneys sought the delay so that he could attend the closing on the sale of his home.

Blagojevich, a Democrat, was accused of trying to profit as he considered whom to appoint to succeed Barack Obama when he vacated his Senate seat to move to the White House.

Blagojevich was convicted of corruption in June after a jury returned 17 guilty verdicts against him.

Federal prosecutors sought a sentence of 15 to 20 years, but his attorneys called that excessive and asked the judge for leniency last week, even as they admitted for the first time that crimes were committed.

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