With just one day left in his presidency, Barack Obama cut short the sentences of several drug offenders Thursday, but despite pleas from his supporters and family, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was not named in the final batch of commutations.
The list named 11 people from Illinois, but Blagojevich was not one of them.
Blagojevich had requested a presidential commutation last month, but Thursday's announcement was his final chance after his name was not found among Obama’s 64 pardons Tuesday. That list included high-profile names like convicted leaker Chelsea Manning and Puerto Rican nationalistOscar Lopez Rivera.
The White House had earlier said Obama would grant more commutations Thursday, though officials said those would focus on drug offenders and would not likely include any other famous names.
Patti Blagojevich, Blagojevich's wife, kept up hope on Facebook after her husband was left off the list earlier this week.
“We still have time, please keep up the good wishes,” Patti Blagojevich posted on Facebook.
Obama has commuted the most sentences of any other United States president.
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A petition created over the summer asks Obama to grant executive clemency to Blagojevich after a federal judge declined to lower the embattled politician’s sentence.
Blagojevich is serving a 14-year sentence for his attempt to sell then-President-elect Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, in addition to other corruption charges. He is being held at a low-security federal prison in Colorado.
