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Rod Blagojevich ( , born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nicknames "Blago" or "B-Rod", is an American former politician, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the 40th
governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
from 2003 to 2009, when he was impeached following charges of public corruption for which he was later sentenced to federal prison. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked in both the state and federal legislatures. He served as an Illinois state representative from 1993 to 1997, and the U.S. representative from Illinois's 5th district from 1997 to 2003. Born and raised in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, Blagojevich graduated from
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
in 1979 and the Pepperdine University School of Law in 1983. After graduating, he became a criminal prosecutor at the Cook County State's Attorney Office during the late 1980s. Turning to elective politics, he represented the 33rd state house district in the Illinois House of Representatives where he supported mostly law and order policies. Forgoing a second term in the state legislature, he represented for six years, winning re-election twice. He was elected Illinois governor in 2002, the first Democrat to win the office since 1972. There was increased public education funding, infrastructure development, and criminal justice reforms during his first term. A 2006 re-election and his second term led to the passage of a variety of healthcare, gun control, and anti-discrimination bills. Starting in December 2008, a federal investigation and trial found Blagojevich guilty of public corruption after he attempted to solicit bribes to occupy the U.S. Senate seat vacated by
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
upon his election to the presidency. These charges were brought in after Blagojevich threatened to stop the state's dealings with Bank of America Corp. over a shut-down factory in Chicago. Blagojevich was impeached, convicted, and removed from office in 2009 by the
Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...
. He was also subsequently barred by the
Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...
from holding public office within the state ever again. For his role in the corruption scandal, Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. After an appeal for his release, U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
formally commuted his sentence in 2020, after Blagojevich had been imprisoned for nearly eight years; the executive order ended his sentence six years early. In May 2020, Blagojevich launched a politics-themed podcast called "The Lightning Rod" on WLS-AM 890.


Early life

Rod Blagojevich was born in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, the second of two children. His parents were
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...
immigrants from
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
. His father, Rade B. Blagojevich, was an immigrant steel plant laborer from a village near
Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...
,
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
.Copley News Service. ''Three Democrats battle for party's nomination for governor''. March 9, 2002. His mother, Mila, was a Bosnian Serb, whose family was originally from
Gacko Gacko ( sr-cyrl, Гацко) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the region of East Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,784 inhabitants, while the m ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...
. His parents moved to Chicago in 1947. Blagojevich has a brother, Rob, who worked as a fund-raiser for Blagojevich in his later political career. Blagojevich spent much of his childhood working odd jobs to help the family pay its bills. He was a shoeshiner and pizza delivery boy before working at a
meat packing The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is gener ...
plant. In order to afford university costs, Blagojevich worked for the
Trans-Alaska Pipeline System The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of ...
as a dishwasher. Blagojevich does not have a middle name, but uses the initial "R" in honor of his deceased father. His nickname in the family was " Milorad," which some have mistakenly thought to be his name at birth. Blagojevich graduated from Chicago's Foreman High School after transferring from Lane Technical High School. He played
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
in high school, and participated in two fights after training as a
Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nationa ...
boxer. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Tampa. After two years, he transferred to
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
in suburban Evanston, where he graduated in 1979 with a B.A. in
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
. He earned his J.D. from the Pepperdine University School of Law in 1983. He later said of the experience: "I went to law school at a place called Pepperdine in Malibu, California, overlooking the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
 — a lot of surfing and movie stars and all the rest. I barely knew where that law library was." Blagojevich is married to Patricia Mell, the daughter of former Chicago alderman Richard Mell. Blagojevich voted for
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
in 1980 and voted for his re-election in 1984.


Amateur boxing career

Blagojevich had an amateur boxing career which spanned 13 months and included
Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nationa ...
competition. He trained under Jerry Marzillo in Chicago's Park District, and he fought some of his matches at the St. Andrews Gym in Chicago's Northside.


Early career


Prosecutor

Blagojevich clerked for Chicago Alderman Edward Vrdolyak. Blagojevich then took a job as Cook County Assistant State's Attorney (assistant prosecutor) under State's Attorney
Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term ...
, specializing in domestic abuse crimes and felony weapons cases.


State and federal legislator

In 1992, with the backing of his influential father-in-law, Blagojevich unseated 14-year incumbent Myron Kulas in the Democratic primary for the 33rd state house district, in the
Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...
, which includes part of Chicago's North Side. As is the case with most state legislative elections in Chicago, this virtually assured him of election in November. He drew on his experiences as a prosecutor to draft bills that he argued would strengthen the state's judicial system and reduce crime. In 1996, Blagojevich did not seek reelection to the statehouse but instead ran for , based on the North Side. The district had long been represented by Dan Rostenkowski, who served as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Rostenkowski lost reelection in 1994 to Republican
Michael Patrick Flanagan Michael Patrick Flanagan (born November 9, 1962) is a former captain in the United States Army, a practicing attorney, and a Republican Party politician from Chicago, Illinois. Flanagan is best known for his victory over eighteen-term Congress ...
after pleading guilty to mail fraud. However, Flanagan was a conservative Republican representing a heavily Democratic district and was regarded as a heavy underdog. Blagojevich soundly defeated Flanagan by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, with support from his father-in-law. He was elected two more times, taking 74% against a nominal Republican challenger in 1998 and having only a
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
opponent in 2000. Blagojevich was not known as a particularly active congressman. In the late 1990s, he traveled with
Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senato ...
to
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...
in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to negotiate with President
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
for the release of American prisoners of war. On October 10, 2002, Blagojevich was one of 81 House Democrats, and one of only two from Illinois (the other being David D. Phelps), who voted in favor of authorizing the
invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
.


Gubernatorial campaigns


2002 election

During 2002, Blagojevich campaigned for his party's nomination to become governor. Blagojevich won a close primary campaign against former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris and
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...
Superintendent
Paul Vallas Paul Gust Vallas (born June 10, 1953) is an American politician and former superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, former CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Publ ...
, who ran well in the suburban
collar counties Collar counties is a colloquialism for DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, the five counties of Illinois that border Cook County, which is home to Chicago. The collar counties are part of the Chicago metropolitan area and comp ...
of Chicago. Blagojevich finished strongly in
Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...
, winning 55% of the primary vote downstate, enough to win a primary victory by a thin margin. During the primary, state Senator
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
backed Burris but, at Burris's suggestion, supported Blagojevich after he won the primary, serving as a "top adviser" for the general election. Future Obama senior adviser David Axelrod had previously worked with Blagojevich on congressional campaigns, but did not consider Blagojevich ready to be governor and declined to work for him on this campaign. According to
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
, he, Obama, Blagojevich's campaign co-chair David Wilhelm, and another Blagojevich staffer "were the top strategists of Blagojevich's 2002 gubernatorial victory", meeting weekly to outline campaign strategies. However, Wilhelm has said that Emanuel overstated Obama's role in the sessions, and Emanuel said in December 2008 that Wilhelm was correct and he had been wrong in his earlier 2008 recollection to ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''. In the general election, Blagojevich defeated Republican
Illinois Attorney General The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the attorn ...
Jim Ryan. Blagojevich's campaign was helped by his well-connected father-in-law, Chicago alderman Richard Mell. Ethics scandals had plagued the previous administration of Republican George Ryan (no relation to Jim Ryan), and Blagojevich's campaign focused on the theme of "ending business as usual" in state government. Polls prior to the election found that many Illinois voters were confused about the names of George Ryan and Jim Ryan, a fact which Blagojevich used to his advantage. He asked, "How can you replace one Ryan with another Ryan and call that change? You want change? Elect a guy named Blagojevich." Blagojevich won with 52% of the vote over Jim Ryan. On election night, he said: "Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, Illinois has voted for change."


2006 reelection

From 2005 to 2006, Blagojevich served as federal liaison for the
Democratic Governors Association The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mission of the organization is to provide party ...
. In 2005, Blagojevich also served as a Chair of the
Midwestern Governors Association The Midwestern Governors Association (MGA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that brings together the governors of Midwestern states to work cooperatively on public policy issues of significance to the region. The MGA was created ...
. Numerous scandals brought the governor's approval rating as low as 36 percent, with 56 percent disapproving near the end of 2005. By early 2006, five Republicans campaigned in the
primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...
for the right to challenge him in the
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, with state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka eventually winning the nomination. Blagojevich formally began his 2006 reelection campaign for Governor of Illinois on February 19, 2006. He won the Democratic primary on March 21 with 72% of the vote against challenger Edwin Eisendrath, whom Blagojevich would not debate. He convinced Democratic state senator
James Meeks James T. Meeks (born August 4, 1956) is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, who represented the 15th district from 2003 to 2013. He is also an active Baptist minister in Chicago and chaired the Illinois Legislative Black Cauc ...
not to launch a third-party campaign by promising to attempt to lease out the state lottery to provide education funding. Blagojevich was endorsed by many Democratic leaders (with the notable exception of Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who claimed it was a conflict of interest since her office was investigating him), including then-Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who endorsed the governor in early 2005 and spoke on his behalf at the August 2006
Illinois State Fair The Illinois State Fair is an annual festival, centering on the theme of agriculture, hosted by the U.S. state of Illinois in the state capital, Springfield. The state fair has been celebrated almost every year since 1853. Currently, the fair ...
. Blagojevich was also endorsed by the state's
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who b ...
, the only Illinois governor ever endorsed by the organization. The union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, correcti ...
declined to endorse Blagojevich for reelection, citing the 500 jobs he eliminated from the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines ...
, which left some state parks unsupervised. In 2004, Blagojevich had ordered the
Illinois Tollway The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Illinois charged with building, operating, and maintaining toll roads in the state. The roads, as well as the authority itself, are sometimes referr ...
to erect 32 signs at a cost of $480,000, announcing " Open Road Tolling. Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor." In 2006, the signs were criticized for serving as campaign signs and costing significantly more than the common $200 signs. In the general election, Blagojevich defeated Topinka and the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
's
Rich Whitney Rich Whitney (born April 21, 1955) is an American politician and civil rights attorney who was the Illinois Green Party's nominee for Governor of Illinois in the elections of 2006 and 2010. During the 2006 campaign Whitney received endorsement ...
, outspending Topinka $27 million to $6 million. He attempted to tie Topinka to former Republican governor George Ryan's corruption. Topinka ran advertisements detailing Blagojevich's federal investigations and non-endorsements by major state Democrats such as Lisa Madigan. A three-term state treasurer, Topinka said that she had attempted to stop Blagojevich from using money from special funds for general expenditures without approval of the legislature; she said Blagojevich used the funds for projects meant to distract voters from his associates' corruption trials: "This constant giving away of money ... a million here, a million there, it raids our already hamstrung government and deadbeat state." Topinka's spokesman claimed that Blagojevich was the most investigated governor in Illinois history. Topinka lost to Blagojevich by 11%.


Gubernatorial administration

After the 2002 elections, Democrats had control of the Illinois House, Senate, and all but one statewide office. While in office, Blagojevich signed progressive legislation such as ethics reform,
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
reform, a state Earned Income Tax Credit, a statewide comprehensive smoking ban and expansions of health programs like KidCare and FamilyCare (FamilyCare was ruled unconstitutional). Blagojevich signed a bill in 2005 that prohibited discrimination based on
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
in employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit. Blagojevich originally campaigned against pork barrel spending, but eventually used it himself to gain more votes for bills. Soon after taking office in 2003, Blagojevich continued support of a moratorium on executions of
death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ...
inmates, even though no such executions are likely to occur for years (his predecessor, George Ryan, commuted all of the death sentences in the state shortly before leaving office in 2003). This support continued through his administration. Another notable action of his term was a strict new ethics law. When campaigning for re-election in 2006, Blagojevich said that if his ethics law had existed when former governor George Ryan had been in office, Ryan's corruption might not have occurred. Blagojevich also signed a comprehensive death penalty reform bill that was written by then-Senator Barack Obama and the late U.S. Senator Paul M. Simon.
Organized labor A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...
and
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s were Blagojevich's staunchest political supporters. In 2008, he told a group of African-Americans that he sometimes considered himself the first African American governor of Illinois.


Education

Blagojevich oversaw record increases in funding for education every year without raising general sales or income taxes. He was criticized by Republicans and many moderate Democrats for using funds from the state pension system in order to fund other spending. Another early 2006 proposal included "PreSchool for All" for all three- and four-year-old children in Illinois. Legislation authorizing the program was adopted as part of the fiscal year 2007 budget.


Proposed capital programs

On January 10, 2006, Blagojevich announced a proposal for a new $3 billion (US) spending plan for Illinois roads, mass transit, and schools, to be paid for by increased tax revenue and new gambling proposals (such as Keno and lottery games). The proposal met with immediate opposition by members of the Republican Party of Illinois and many Democrats, who viewed it as "an election year ploy". The suggestion to legalize Keno within Illinois was later withdrawn. As of 2008, Blagojevich had been unable for five years to agree to a capital plan that would improve Illinois infrastructure. In March 2008, Blagojevich announced a bipartisan coalition, chaired by former U.S. Speaker of the House
Dennis Hastert John Dennis Hastert (; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician and convicted felon who represented from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. The longest-se ...
and Former U.S. Congressman Glenn Poshard, to develop a capital construction plan that could pass the Illinois General Assembly. The Illinois Works Coalition toured the state and developed a compromise $34 billion package that relied on a lease of the Illinois Lottery, road funds, and expanded gambling for funding. The plan passed the Senate but stalled in the Illinois House, with opposition from Democrats.


Special sessions

Blagojevich called the Illinois General Assembly into special session 36 times while in office, which is half of the total number of special sessions called since 1970. The sessions were blamed for disrupting lawmakers' time off, while Blagojevich himself did not attend the sessions.


Relationships with lawmakers

Blagojevich disagreed with many state Democrats while in office, with House and Senate Republican leaders Frank Watson and Tom Cross often refereeing among the Democrats. During 2008, Blagojevich even expressed fear that House Democrats would gain more seats and he would face more opposition. Blagojevich's
lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
was Pat Quinn. Quinn and Blagojevich publicly disagreed over Blagojevich's proposed Gross Receipts Tax to increase revenue for schools and other projects within Illinois. Quinn said in December 2008, that he had last spoken to Blagojevich in the summer of 2007. Blagojevich also feuded with Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Comptroller
Dan Hynes Daniel W. Hynes (born July 20, 1968) is an American politician, formerly serving as the Illinois Comptroller. Background Hynes was born in Chicago, the son of Thomas Hynes, a former Cook County assessor, president of the Illinois Senate and ...
, Secretary of State Jesse White, and state treasurer
Alexi Giannoulias Alexi is a given name that is a variant or nickname of Alexander or Alexandra. Notable people with the name include: Men * Alexi Laiho (1979–2020), full name Markku Uula Aleksi Laiho, Finnish singer, composer, and guitarist of the death metal ...
 — all of whom are Democrats. Blagojevich was often at odds with members of both parties in the state legislature. Democratic legislator Jack Franks said that the reason Blagojevich had problems passing laws with the cooperation of the General Assembly is that he did not spend enough time with the legislature. "That's a real reason he has such poor relations with the Legislature and can't get any of his agenda passed, because he doesn't talk to anybody." When lawmakers working on a budget during a special session met at 10 am rather than 2 pm, and Blagojevich's attorney threatened that the Governor was considering legal action against the involved representatives, Democratic Rep. Joe Lyons told reporters, "We have a madman. The man is insane." Although
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
served as an adviser to Blagojevich's 2002 gubernatorial campaign, by all accounts, Blagojevich and Obama have been estranged for years. Blagojevich did not endorse Obama in the 2004 United States Senate race, and Obama did not invite Blagojevich to speak at the
2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convent ...
, as he did Lisa Madigan, Hynes, and Giannoulias. Blagojevich has had a "friendly rapport" with the man who took over his congressional seat,
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
. Blagojevich has also disagreed publicly with then-Democratic Chicago Mayor
Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term ...
; after their dispute over
Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , ...
funding, Daley called Blagojevich "cuckoo" and said he did not want to argue with the Governor since "He's arguing with everybody in America." Blagojevich replied, "I don't think I'm cuckoo." Soon after a meeting of 2007 with Democratic State Senator
Mike Jacobs Mike Jacobs may refer to: *Mike Jacobs (first baseman) (born 1980), American baseball player; first North American in professional sports to be tested positive for HGH * Mike Jacobs (shortstop) (1877–1949), played for the Chicago Cubs *Mike Jacob ...
, meant to convince Jacobs to vote for Blagojevich's health insurance proposals, Jacobs emerged telling reporters that the Governor "blew up at him like a 10-year-old child", Blagojevich would not comment on the alleged incident. Jacobs said during 2008: "This is a governor who I don't think has a single ally, except for Senate president Emil Jones — and that's tenuous at best." Jones and Blagojevich sometimes collaborated, while at other times they disagreed on funding for education. During a 2008 Congressional race pitting Democratic state senator
Debbie Halvorson Deborah L. Halvorson (born March 1, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until 2011. Previously, she served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 through 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In ...
against Republican Marty Ozinga, the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds, and organizes races in ...
ran television advertisements attempting to help Halvorson by linking Republican Ozinga to Blagojevich, asserting that Ozinga had given campaign donations to the Democratic governor.


''The Daily Show'' appearances

During early February 2006, Blagojevich appeared on ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form fr ...
'' to discuss the governor’s executive order that pharmacists must dispense any drugs for which a customer had a valid prescription, including
birth control pill The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth control pill or colloquially as "the pill", is a type of birth control that is designed to be taken orally by women. The pill contains two important hormones: progesti ...
s and
Plan B Plan B typically refers to a contingency plan, a plan devised for an outcome other than in the expected plan. Plan B may also refer to: * Plan B, a brand name of levonorgestrel, an emergency contraception drug Film and television * Plan B Ent ...
. This measure was being challenged on the show by state legislator Ron Stephens from Greenville, Illinois. Blagojevich was interviewed by Jason Jones, who repeatedly pretended to be unable to pronounce Blagojevich's name and simply called him "Governor Smith". At one point in the interview, Jones, who was acting as if he were against the governor's order, told him, "I'll be in charge of what my listeners hear." This prompted Blagojevich to turn to the camera and ask, "Is he teasing me or is that legit?" Two weeks after the interview, Blagojevich said that he was unaware of the nature of the show. Stephens said he knew beforehand that the show was a comedy show: "I thought the governor was hip enough that he would have known that, too." Stephens later said, "With all due respect to the governor, he knew it was a comedy show. It's general knowledge for people under 90 years of age. It was when he came off looking so silly that he said he thought it was a regular news program. Even assuming he didn't know about it beforehand, we had to sign a release before the interview." Blagojevich made another appearance on ''The Daily Show'' on August 23, 2010, after his removal from office. During his time on the show, he vehemently defended himself against host
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted '' The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts '' ...
's critique of things that he had previously said on the show. Stewart focused on how Blagojevich had expressed a great desire to tell his side in court, but then did not. Stewart attempted to get a promise that next time, Blagojevich would testify. Stewart also focused on Blagojevich's previous statement to him, that if one heard the famous "effing golden" statement in context, it would be seen as innocent. Stewart played the additional recording, and asked him how that sounded any different. The former governor had no concrete answers.


Political positions


State spending

Blagojevich was criticized for using what his opponents called "gimmicks" to balance the state budget. Republicans claimed that he was simply passing the state's fiscal problems on to future generations by borrowing his way to balanced budgets. Indeed, the 2005 state budget called for paying the bills by underfunding a state employees' pension fund by $1.2 billion. During 2008, Blagojevich proposed issuing $16 billion in new bonds for the state to meet pension fund requirements. Blagojevich once told a gathering of black ministers on Chicago's South Side that he was "on the side of our Lord" with his budget proposals. Blagojevich proposed a budget for 2008 with a 5% increase from the year before. Budget reductions of some programs caused Blagojevich to attempt to close 11 state parks and 13 state historic sites, with his spokesman saying Blagojevich had never visited any of them. To plug state budget holes, Blagojevich at one point proposed selling the James R. Thompson Center or mortgaging it. Blagojevich was also criticized for his handling of the 2007 state budget. In particular, critics cited his unprecedented use of line-item and reduction vetoes to remove his political opponents' "member initiatives" from the budget bill. During 2003, more than 1,000 Illinois judges began a
class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
lawsuit against Blagojevich, because Blagojevich had stopped constitutionally-required cost of living pay increases for the judges due to budget reductions. The case was settled in the judges' favor in 2005, with Blagojevich's veto ruled as violating the state's constitution.


Health care

During a suspected shortage of the flu vaccine in 2004, Blagojevich ordered 260,000 doses from overseas distributors, which the
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
had warned would be barred from entering the United States. Although the vaccine doses had cost the state $2.6 million, the FDA refused to allow them into the country, and a buyer could not be found; they were donated to earthquake survivors in
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
a year later. However, the lots had expired, and Pakistan destroyed the vaccines. Also in 2004, Blagojevich's plans to set up a website for Illinois residents to import medication from Canada and the United Kingdom was blocked by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
. Imported medication would have saved users of the service 25 to 50 percent over domestic drugs. Blagojevich issued an executive order during 2004 requiring pharmacists in the state to dispense "morning-after" birth control, even if they object on moral or religious grounds. This order was legally challenged. Later in 2007, opponents of the governor's executive order reached a settlement with the state in one case, causing partial removal of the order. The settlement, which followed the Illinois Supreme Court's decision in September 2007 to hear an appeal of a lawsuit challenging the executive order, allowed pharmacists to decline to dispense birth control, so long as they provided information to customers about pharmacists who did. In another case, Morr-Fitz v. Blagojevich (later Morr-Fitz v. Quinn), the Illinois Court of Appeals ruled against Blagojevich's order. During October 2005, Blagojevich announced All Kids, his plan to provide access to state-subsidized healthcare for every child in Illinois. Signed into law by Blagojevich in November 2005, All Kids made Illinois the first state in the U.S. to attempt to legally require itself to provide universal affordable and comprehensive healthcare for children, regardless of income and immigration status. During March 2007, Blagojevich announced and campaigned for his universal healthcare plan, Illinois Covered. The plan was debated in the Illinois State Senate, but came one vote short of passing. He proposed to pay for the plan with the largest tax increase in Illinois history. He proposed a gross receipts tax on businesses, a $7.6 billion tax increase, with proceeds earmarked to provide universal healthcare in Illinois, increase education spending by $1.5 billion, fund a $25 billion capital construction plan, and reduce the State's $40 billion pension debt. Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan called for a vote on a non-binding resolution on whether the state should impose a gross receipts tax. When it became apparent that the resolution would be defeated, Blagojevich announced at the last minute that supporters should vote against it, although the vote was intended to be a test vote to gauge whether the measure had any support. The request was seen by many lawmakers from both parties as an attempt to spin the loss positively. It was defeated by a vote of 107–0, which the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
termed "jaw-dropping". When asked about the vote of the day, Blagojevich said, "Today, I think, was basically an up. ... I feel good about it." Blagojevich also successfully proposed a new tax on businesses that do not provide health insurance to their employees. Lawmakers did not approve another initiative of Blagojevich's, FamilyCare (which would provide healthcare for families of four making up to $82,000), but Blagojevich attempted to implement the plan unilaterally by
executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...
. In rejecting Blagojevich's executive order, a legislative committee questioned how the state would pay for the program. Blagojevich's decision has been called unconstitutional by two courts, which nullified the plan. However, during October 2008, pharmacies which had followed Blagojevich's directive to dispense drugs under the plan were informed by his administration that they would not be reimbursed and would have payments given under the system deducted from future
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...
payments. One state lawmaker, Republican Ron Stephens, suggested that Blagojevich should pay the difference out of his own personal account. ''
The Pantagraph ''The Pantagraph'' is a daily newspaper that serves Bloomington–Normal, Illinois, along with 60 communities and eight counties in the Central Illinois area. Its headquarters are in Bloomington and it is owned by Lee Enterprises. The name is ...
'' agreed with Stephens in an editorial. Associated Press attempted under the
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...
to discover how the state planned to pay for the Blagojevich-ordered program, how many people were enrolled, or how much the care had cost the state but were refused the information by state departments.


Business

After Blagojevich pushed for a law banning sales of certain video games to minors, a federal judge declared the law violated the
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
, with the state ordered to pay $520,000 in legal fees. Blagojevich vetoed three bills that would permit trucks to drive 65 mph outside the Chicago area instead of the current 55 mph, stating that one bill "compromises safety". Blagojevich threatened to stop the state's dealings with
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
Corp. over a shut-down factory in Chicago. On December 8, 2008, all state agencies were ordered to stop conducting business with Bank of America to pressure the company to make the loans. Blagojevich said the biggest U.S. retail bank would not get any more state business unless it restored credit to Republic Windows and Doors, whose workers were staging a
sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
. John Douglas, a former general counsel for the FDIC and attorney for Bank of America, called Blagojevich's gambit dangerous.


Gun control

Blagojevich has been described as a "staunch" supporter of gun control. During his February 2006 "State of the State" address, Blagojevich said the state should ban semi-automatic firearms. As a state legislator, Blagojevich proposed raising the price of an Illinois Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card from $5 to $500. Blagojevich vetoed three gun bills in 2005, which would have: # Deleted records in gun database after 90 days # Eliminated the waiting period for someone wanting to buy a rifle or shotgun, when trading in a previously owned weapon # Overridden local laws regulating transport of firearms.


Oprah Winfrey

In early 2009, Blagojevich reported being so impressed by Oprah Winfrey's influence on the election of Barack Obama that he considered offering Obama's vacant Senate seat to Winfrey. Blagojevich summarized his reasons for considering Winfrey on various talk shows: Winfrey noted that although she was uninterested, she did feel she could be a senator. Political analyst
Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, '' Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on ...
praised Blagojevich's idea of making Winfrey a senator, suggesting that in one move it would diversify the Senate and raise its collective IQ. Elaborating further he said:
Lynn Sweet Lynn Sweet is an American journalist and in October 2013, became the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. She has been with the ''Sun-Times,'' for over four decades, joining in 1976. Sweet is also a columnist for '' The H ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' agreed with Matthews, writing Winfrey would be "terrific" and an "enormously popular pick".


Personal style

Blagojevich was famed for his flamboyant dress style, such as his taste for Charvet ties. After the Justice Department complaint was made public, Blagojevich's hairstyle became the subject of discussion and jokes for national and local media personalities. Blagojevich insisted his aides always carry a hairbrush for him. He referred to it as "the football", alluding to the term '' nuclear football'', which represents the bomb launch codes never to be out of reach of the president.


Impeachment, removal from office, trial

After Blagojevich threatened to stop the state's dealings with Bank of America Corp. over a shut-down factory in Chicago, under the direction of U.S. Attorney
Patrick Fitzgerald Patrick J. Fitzgerald (born December 22, 1960) is an American lawyer and partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom since October 2012. For more than a decade, until June 30, 2012, Fitzgerald was the United States Attorney ...
, Governor Blagojevich was arrested at his home by federal agents on December 9, 2008, and charged with corruption. The
Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
complaint alleged that the governor conspired to commit several "
pay to play Pay-to-play, sometimes pay-for-play or P2P, is a phrase used for a variety of situations in which money is exchanged for services or the privilege to engage in certain activities. The common denominator of all forms of pay-to-play is that one mu ...
" schemes, including attempting "to obtain personal gain ... through the corrupt use" of his authority to fill the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
seat vacated by
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
following his election as president, claiming that in wiretapped recordings Blagojevich discussed his desire to get something in exchange for an appointment to the seat. After various outreach efforts, he appointed former state attorney general Roland Burris on New Year's Eve 2008. Burris was seated after some initial opposition in mid-January 2009.Illinois Gov. Blagojevich, chief of staff, arrested
Chicago Tribune, December 9, 2008.
A trial was set for June 3, 2010, and U.S. Attorney
Patrick Fitzgerald Patrick J. Fitzgerald (born December 22, 1960) is an American lawyer and partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom since October 2012. For more than a decade, until June 30, 2012, Fitzgerald was the United States Attorney ...
spoke out on the charges, characterizing Blagojevich's actions as trying to auction the open seat off to "the highest bidder". The Illinois House and Senate moved quickly to impeach the governor for abuse of power and corruption. On January 8, the Illinois House voted 114–1 (with three abstentions) to impeach Blagojevich. The charges brought by the House emphasized Blagojevich's alleged abuses of power and his alleged attempts to sell legislative authorizations and/or vetoes, and gubernatorial appointments including that of Obama's vacated Senate seat. Blagojevich was taped by the FBI saying "I've got this thing, and it's fucking golden. I'm just not giving it up for fucking nothing." On January 27, 2009, Blagojevich began a media campaign planned by publicist Glenn Selig. During the two-day campaign, he visited ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'', ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
'', ''
The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...
'', '' The View'', multiple programs on
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...
, CNN and
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
where he proclaimed his innocence and insisted he would be vindicated. On January 29, 2009, Blagojevich was removed from office and prohibited from ever holding public office in the state of Illinois again, by two separate and unanimous votes of 59–0 by the Illinois Senate. His lieutenant governor Patrick Quinn subsequently became governor of Illinois. Blagojevich's impeachment trial and removal from office did not affect his federal
indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that ...
in the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois a ...
, since impeachment is a political as opposed to a criminal sanction in addition to being (in this particular case) a punishment imposed at the state level.


Post-removal activities

After being convicted and removed from office by the
Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...
, Blagojevich went on ''
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...
'' and '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'', where he re-affirmed his innocence and stated that the Illinois legislature's decision to remove him from office was politically motivated, being due to his unwillingness to raise taxes. He has accused his successor, Pat Quinn, of using state funds excessively for personal leisure. A report later released by the Governor's office showed that most of Quinn's transportation fees were paid for by himself and that Quinn never accepted the $32 meal allowance from the State. Blagojevich attempted to make a deal to star in NBC's 2009 summer
reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
'' I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me out of Here!'' He made a request with the judge to ease his travel restrictions so that he could travel to
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
to star in the show, saying that his family needed to make money. However, his request was formally rejected by U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel, who was sympathetic to Blagojevich's financial situation, but nevertheless stated, "I don't think this defendant fully understands and I don't think he could understand ... the position he finds himself in." Judge Zagel went on further to note that Blagojevich must prepare for his defense. Despite the ruling, NBC expressed an interest in negotiating with the judge to have Blagojevich as a part of the show. His wife took his place on the show, which began airing June 1, 2009. He told an interviewer he found it difficult to watch his wife eat a dead
tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although m ...
on the broadcast, but remarked that her willingness to participate in the show was "an act of love" because she was earning funds to alleviate their adverse financial position. On June 13, 2009, Blagojevich starred in the improv group
The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre o ...
's musical ''Rod Blagojevich Superstar''. He performed in order to support the charity Gilda's Club Chicago, which offers support for people living with cancer.Second City
"Blago Takes the Stage"
www.secondcity.com,
On June 30, 2009, Blagojevich's
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
''The Governor: The Truth Behind the Political Scandal That Continues to Rock the Nation'' was announced for print release on September 8, 2009. The book was also released by Amazon.com for sale as an
eBook An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
on the Kindle on the same day as the announcement. On July 19, 2009, Blagojevich began hosting a two-hour weekly radio talk show on 890 WLS, which aired mid-day Sundays. He had previously been a guest host of the "Don Wade and Roma Morning Show" on WLS in March 2009. On June 2, 2010, WLS placed Blagojevich's radio show on hiatus while his corruption trial was ongoing. Blagojevich appeared on season 9 of '' The Celebrity Apprentice'' in Spring 2010, asserting that he has the "skill and know-how to get things accomplished" on the series. Series star and producer
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
praised Blagojevich's "tremendous courage and guts", and predicted that he would become one of the show's breakout stars. Trump subsequently fired Blagojevich in the fourth episode of the season, which aired April 4, 2010. In an interview with ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' in January 2010, Blagojevich said about
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
, "Everything he's saying's on the teleprompter. I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where he lived. I saw it all growing up." He soon backpedaled from the term "blacker than", saying that he had chosen his words poorly, but he stood by his message that "the frustration is real, and the frustration is still, today, average, ordinary people aren't getting a fair shake." Blagojevich made an appearance at the Wizard World Chicago
comic convention A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at co ...
in August 2010, conversing with and taking pictures with attendees. He charged $50 for an autograph and $80 for a photo. He also had a humorous televised meeting with Adam West; Blagojevich remarked that he considered
The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book '' Batman'' on April 25, 1 ...
to be the best Batman foil. Comic fandom website ''
Bleeding Cool Bleeding Cool is an Internet news site, focusing on comics, television, film, board games, and video games. Owned by Avatar Press, it was launched by Rich Johnston on March 27, 2009. Avatar Press also publishes an associated magazine, ''Bleeding ...
'' reported that Blagojevich had met with a mostly positive reception, while ''
Time Out Chicago ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition beca ...
'' described it as mixed.


Federal trial and conviction

Blagojevich was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2009. Most of the charges were related to attempts to sell the Senate seat vacated by then-President-elect
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
. On August 17, 2010, he was convicted on one of the 24 federal charges, a charge of lying to the FBI, and the jury was hung on 23 other counts.Chicago Tribune, August 18, 2010, p. 1, "Several panelists dissatisfied, point to lack of smoking gun' by Annie Sweeney, Vikki Ortiz Healy and Noreen S. Ahmed-Uilah. The defense did not call a single witness, claiming that prosecutors did not prove their case. Because the jury could not agree on the remaining charges, a mistrial was ordered for those counts. Within 15 minutes after the mistrial was declared, the
prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
team announced that they would definitely pursue a retrial on the 23 mistrial counts. A post-
verdict In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In England and Wales ...
court date was set for August 23, 2010. Federal prosecutors reduced the number of counts for Blagojevich's retrial, and, on June 27, 2011, he was found guilty of 17 of the 20 remaining charges, not guilty on one, and no verdict was rendered by the jury on two counts. He was found guilty on all charges pertaining to the Senate seat, as well as extortion relating to state funds being directed towards a children's hospital and race track. However, he was acquitted on a charge pertaining to the tollway extortion and avoided a guilty verdict (by split decision) on attempting to extort
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
. He reported to prison on March 15, 2012, at
Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood The Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood (FCI Englewood) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Colorado. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United States Department of Jus ...
, Colorado. His
Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
(BOP) number was 40892–424. Had his sentence not been commuted by President Donald Trump, under federal rules, Blagojevich would have served at least 85%, or 12 years, of his sentence after which time he may have been eligible for early release in March 2024, based on good behavior. However, President Trump commuted his sentence so he was released on February 18, 2020. While in the federal penitentiary, Blagojevich was the lead singer for prison band called "The Jailhouse Rockers," named after an
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
song. The band dissolved when the lead guitarist was released. He was the fourth Illinois governor to serve time in federal prison, after
Otto Kerner Jr. Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was an American jurist and politician who served as the 33rd governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circui ...
, Dan Walker, and George Ryan.


Appeal

Blagojevich appealed his conviction, claiming judicial bias and a tainted jury pool. He has also long contended that there was critical evidence the jury never heard, including witness testimony and recorded phone calls that Judge Zagel did not allow to be played during the trial. They have also argued that Blagojevich's own testimony was restricted by Judge Zagel's rulings. In July 2013, Blagojevich filed an appeal with the
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of ...
in Chicago challenging the corruption conviction and the length of his prison term. A three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit heard arguments in the case in December 2013. In July 2015, the court unanimously vacated five of the corruption convictions, including his convictions for attempting to sell Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat after he was elected president, but affirmed the rest. The court's decision remanded to the district court. The Seventh Circuit denied Blagojevich's request for rehearing ''
en banc In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller p ...
'', and in March 2016, the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
denied Blagojevich's petition for a
writ of certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...
. In August 2016, a resentencing hearing was held in the district court. Judge Zagel re-imposed the same 14-year sentence he had imposed in 2011. Zagel acknowledged the suffering of Blagojevich's family and Blagojevich's good conduct in prison, but found that Blagojevich's corrupt conduct still warranted a 14-year sentence. Blagojevich's attorneys appealed to the 7th Circuit, but failed; then filed another appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on November 3, 2017. Meanwhile, unrepentant, Blagojevich continued to fight his conviction and sentence in the media. His wife Patti joined him in attracting press attention to his cause and criticism of the federal judiciary. On April 16, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal, the second time in two years.


Commutation

President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
, hours after having
pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
ed commentator
Dinesh D'Souza Dinesh Joseph D'Souza (; born April 25, 1961) is an Indian-American right-wing political commentator, author, filmmaker, and conspiracy theorist. He has written over a dozen books, several of them ''New York Times'' best-sellers. In 2012, D' ...
, told reporters on May 31, 2018, that he was considering
commuting Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regu ...
Blagojevich's sentence (without pardoning him), as well as pardoning
Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pu ...
. Trump called Blagojevich's sentence "unfair", saying that Blagojevich's statements about enriching himself were "stupid", but also the sort of thing "that many other politicians say". Blagojevich filed a petition officially asking President Trump for commutation of sentence on June 5, 2018. In August 2019, Trump commented to reporters that he was "very strongly" considering issuing a commutation. On February 18, 2020, President Trump commuted Blagojevich's 14-year corruption sentence, wiping away the sentence but not the conviction. "I don't know him very well, I've met him a couple of times, he was on for a short time on ''The Apprentice'' years ago, seemed like a very nice person, don't know him, but he served eight years in jail, there's a long time to go," Trump said to reporters. Some news sources noted that, in addition to ''The Apprentice'' connection, Trump and his organization had made contributions to Blagojevich's political campaigns, including his 2002 gubernatorial campaign. Blagojevich was released from prison that day, and flew home to Chicago that night. Speaking to reporters after his release, he stated, "I’m profoundly grateful to President Trump, and I will be for as long as I live." He said Trump was "a man who’s not only tough and outspoken, strong, but he has a kind heart", and proclaimed himself to be a "Trump-ocrat". On February 19, Blagojevich held a press conference at his home in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood, where he remained defiant towards his conviction, describing himself as a "political prisoner," and promised to use his experience in prison to fix the broken criminal justice system. Illinois House GOP leader Jim Durkin criticized the President's decision to commute Blagojevich's sentence, stating that Blagojevich was "rogue on steroids" when he "abused the office" and that Trump was "not concerned about the people of Illinois in November." The commutation was satirized by Chicago-based
The Wieners Circle The Wieners Circle is a hot dog stand on Clark Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is known for its Maxwell Street Polish, Char-dogs, hamburgers, cheese fries, and the mutual verbal abuse between t ...
. Following the commutation, the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission found that Blagojevich had engaged in "a pattern of dishonest and deceptive conduct" and recommended his disbarment to the Illinois Supreme Court. On May 18, 2020, the Supreme Court of Illinois officially disbarred him. In August of the same year, it was announced that Blagojevich would be the featured speaker at a fundraising event to benefit Republican state senate candidate Tom McCullagh. The candidate's campaign stated that "McCullagh is welcoming lagojevichto the table to give us an inside look to help understand the depths of the Madigan machine and how to end corruption in Illinois."


Post-political career

In May 2020, Blagojevich launched a politics-themed
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
entitled "The Lightning Rod" on WLS-AM 890.


Electoral history


House of Representatives

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
* Rod Blagojevich, Democratic: 64% * Michael Flanagan ( inc.), Republican: 36%
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
* Rod Blagojevich (inc.), Democratic: 74% * Alan Spitz, Republican: 24%
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
* Rod Blagojevich (inc.), Democratic: 87% * Matt Beauchamp,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
: 13%


Gubernatorial elections

2002 gubernatorial election, Illinois * Rod Blagojevich, Democratic: 1,818,823, 52.0% * Jim Ryan, Republican: 1,582,604, 45.2% * Cal Skinner, Libertarian: 73,404, 2.1% * Marisellis Brown,
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...
: 22,803, 0.7% 2006 gubernatorial election, Illinois * Rod Blagojevich (inc.), Democratic: 1,736,219, 49.8% * Judy Baar Topinka: Republican: 1,368,682, 39.3% *
Rich Whitney Rich Whitney (born April 21, 1955) is an American politician and civil rights attorney who was the Illinois Green Party's nominee for Governor of Illinois in the elections of 2006 and 2010. During the 2006 campaign Whitney received endorsement ...
,
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
: 361,163, 10.4% *
Randy Stufflebeam Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form ( hypocorism) of th ...
(Write-in),
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
: 19,020, 0.5% * Other Write-ins: 1,587, 0.0%


References


External links

*
Indictment
U.S. v. Blagojevich, et al. FindLaw

''Department of Justice'', December 9, 2008, press release
United States District Court: United States of America v. Rod R. Blagojevich and John Harris
December 9, 2008, copy of 76-page complaint

* People of the State of Illinois v. Rod Blagojevich, Governor of Illinoi
briefMotion for TROSupporting Record TRO


Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
, ongoing coverage
Complete Blagojevich Coverage
''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', ongoing coverage
United States of America v. Rod Blagojevich, Alonzo Monk, John Harris and Robert Blagojevich
Second Superseding Indictment, United States of America v. Rod Blagojevich, Alonzo Monk, John Harris and Robert Blagojevich * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blagojevich, Rod 1956 births Living people Politicians from Chicago Boxers from Illinois Criminals from Chicago Writers from Chicago Democratic Party governors of Illinois American gun control activists American people of Serbian descent American politicians convicted of fraud American prisoners and detainees American prosecutors Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Disbarred American lawyers Illinois lawyers Illinois politicians convicted of crimes Impeached United States officials removed from office Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People convicted of making false statements Illinois politicians convicted of corruption Politicians convicted of extortion under color of official right Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud Recipients of American presidential clemency The Apprentice (franchise) contestants Participants in American reality television series Northwestern University alumni Pepperdine University School of Law alumni 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American criminals