Rod Blagojevich: From Governor to Inmate and Back
Rod R. Blagojevich, often called "Blago," is an American politician whose career took a dramatic turn from holding high office to facing federal corruption charges. He served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. His tenure ended abruptly with his impeachment and subsequent conviction on federal corruption charges. After serving nearly eight years of his sentence, President Donald Trump commuted his sentence in 2020.
Early Life and Education
Rod Blagojevich was born on December 10, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois. He is the second child of Serbian immigrants, Mila and Milorad (“Rade”) Blagojevich. His father, Rade Blagojevich, worked as a steelworker and a ticket agent for the Chicago Transit Authority. Rade had immigrated to the United States after World War II, during which he served in the Yugoslav Army and spent four years as a Nazi prisoner of war. The family spoke Serbian at home.
Rod spent much of his childhood working odd jobs to help the family pay its bills. He shined shoes, delivered pizzas, and worked in a meat packing plant. He also worked for two summers on the Alaskan Pipeline. After graduating from Foreman High School in Chicago, where he played basketball and trained as a boxer, Rod Blagojevich briefly attended the University of Tampa in Florida before transferring to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1979 with a B.A. in history.
After working as a Serbo-Croatian interpreter for the Cook County, Illinois, court system-Blagojevich had learned his father’s native language growing up-he enrolled in law school at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, graduating in 1983 with a Juris Doctor degree. He later reflected on his time at Pepperdine, noting the presence of "surfing and movie stars and all the rest."
Early Career and Political Ascent
After graduating from law school, Blagojevich clerked for Chicago Alderman Edward Vrdolyak. He then accepted a role as Cook County assistant state’s attorney in 1986, working under state’s attorney Richard M. Daley, who would later serve as mayor of Chicago from 1989 to 2011.
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Blagojevich's career in politics began in 1992, when he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 33rd district, which at the time included portions of Chicago’s North Side. In his three terms in the House, Blagojevich sponsored bills focused on education and gun-crime prevention. In 1996, Blagojevich did not seek reelection to the statehouse but instead ran for Illinois's 5th congressional district, based on the North Side. He was re-elected twice, serving three two-year terms in Congress, from 1997 to 2003. As a congressman, he traveled with Jesse Jackson to Yugoslavia to negotiate the release of American soldiers who were being held as prisoners.
Governorship of Illinois
In 2002, Blagojevich launched his campaign for governor of Illinois. The Republican incumbent, George Ryan, was not running for reelection, opening an opportunity for a Democratic challenger in a state that had been led by Republican governors for some 25 years. Blagojevich won the Democratic nomination and secured an endorsement from then Chicago mayor Daley (as well as reluctant support from then Illinois state senator Obama). He ultimately defeated Republican nominee Jim Ryan to become the 40th governor of Illinois, the first Democrat to win the office since 1972. His campaign focused on the theme of "ending business as usual" in state government.
As governor, Blagojevich supported death penalty reforms, mandated ethics trainings for state employees, and introduced a statewide “Preschool for All” program. He oversaw record increases in funding for education every year without raising general sales or income taxes. He signed progressive legislation such as ethics reform, death penalty reform, a state Earned Income Tax Credit, a statewide comprehensive smoking ban and expansions of health programs like KidCare and FamilyCare. Another notable action of his term was a strict new ethics law.
He won reelection in 2006 after defeating Edwin Eisendrath in the Democratic Party primary and defeating Judy Baar Topinka and Rich Whitney in the general election.
Controversies and Impeachment
Blagojevich often disagreed with other lawmakers, including members of his own Democratic party. He also had a difficult relationship with the state legislature. He was criticized for using what his opponents called "gimmicks" to balance the state budget.
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On December 9, 2008, Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested by the FBI. The charges were related to the Governor’s responsibility to appoint a replacement for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by former Illinois senator and then U.S. president-elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich was accused of “conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits” by leveraging his authority to appoint a candidate to fill the newly vacant Senate seat of president-elect Obama. Wiretaps revealed the details of the scheme, which essentially involved Blagojevich “selling” the Senate seat to whomever was willing to procure a lucrative job for himself or his wife. In the process he threatened to withhold state assistance from the Tribune Company if Chicago Tribune editors critical of the governor were not fired. On the wiretaps Blagojevich described his motivation in expletive-filled language made public during his trial: “I’ve got this thing, and it’s fg golden. And I’m just not giving it up for fg nothing.”
Following his arrest, calls for Blagojevich’s resignation came from Democrats and Republicans nationwide. On January 8, 2009, the Illinois House voted to impeach Blagojevich. On January 29, 2009, Blagojevich was convicted at his impeachment trial by a unanimous vote of 59-0 in the Illinois state senate. He was immediately succeeded as governor by Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn. He was also banned from ever holding public office in Illinois again.
Legal Battles and Imprisonment
A federal grand jury formally indicted Blagojevich on twenty-four counts of alleged corruption, most relating to the Obama senate seat, in April of 2009. His trial commenced in June 2010. In August 2010 a jury convicted him on one count-lying to the FBI-but could not reach verdicts on the remaining 23 counts.
A retrial began in May 2011. On June 27, 2011, a jury found Blagojevich guilty on seventeen criminal counts, including wire fraud, bribery, and corruption. In December of 2011, he was sentenced to fourteen years in prison. He reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Englewood, Colorado, on March 15, 2012. In prison, Blagojevich became a vocalist and rock guitarist, served as law librarian, taught American history, and aided fellow inmates with interviewing and personal relationship skills; however, the model prisoner continued to maintain his innocence.
Blagojevich maintained his innocence throughout his sentence. He filed several appeals while incarcerated, and successfully had five of the counts upon which he had been convicted vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in July of 2015. In 2018 Blagojevich filed for clemency, requesting that then president Trump commute his sentence.
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Commutation and Aftermath
On February 18, 2020, President Donald Trump commuted Blagojevich's sentence, and he was released from prison after serving eight years. After his release, Blagojevich called himself a "Trump-ocrat" and thanked the president. He began building a media company with a very specific mission: Work to restore common sense to the conversation about those issues most impacting our daily lives.
On May 18, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court disbarred Blagojevich. Several months later, he was officially disbarred. In 2021, Blagojevich announced his intention to file a lawsuit against the state of Illinois over the handling of his removal from office, stating that his civil rights were violated and his removal was unconstitutional. Blagojevich hoped this would open the door for his return to political office.
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