Political Dynamics of Framing¹

On March 15, 2012, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich began a fourteen-year prison sentence. This signified the end of the long and painful downfall of Blagojevich, who had once held presidential aspirations. He became the fourth Illinois governor in recent times to be imprisoned, following in the steps of his predecessor, George Ryan, who was also serving time for corruption. The start of Blagojevich’s sentence received national attention due, in part, to allegations that Blagojevich had used his ability to appoint a replacement to President Obama’s former Senate seat as an opportunity to sell the seat to the highest bidder. While the media primarily focused upon the corruption angle to the Blagojevich story, others aspects of Blagojevich’s reign received much less attention. One of the more interesting, albeit overlooked, comments came from his 2006 gubernatorial campaign foe: Judy Barr Topinka. She stated that the “legacy of Mr. Blagojevich on the state-and its grim financial situationwill last far longer than his 14-year prison term.”2.