Rod Blagojevich

Rod Blagojevich was the Democratic governor of Illinois. He was impeached and removed from office on January 29, 2009 after the Illinois senate concluded that he had engaged in "a pattern of abuse of power." http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/2350B2CC902716628625754D006FDE91?

Blagojevich had accepted a spot on NBC's reality show I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, but was barred from participating by a federal judge. Instead, his wife Patti Blagojevich became a contestant on the show.http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-ap-il-blagojevich-reali,0,4970869.story http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/04/blagojevichs_reality_tv_turn_r.php

On June 13, 2009, Blagojevich appeared as himself in a parody of Jesus Christ Superstar on Chicago's The Second City comedy troupe's show titled Rod Blagojevich Superstar. The show was supposed to run from February 2009 through June 14th, but due to sold out tickets, it will run until August 9, 2009.http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BLAGOJEVICH_IMPROV?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-06-14-07-27-15 Blagojevich and his wife Patti appeared on "The View" on September 9, 2009.http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-08-27-blogojevich-view_N.htm?csp=34

On August 17, 2010, Blagojevich was convicted on one count of lying to federal investigators. The jury deadlocked on the other 23 counts of federal corruption after one juror refused to vote guilty on the remaining charges. Prosecutors have already said they will retry Blagojevich on the same charges in the fall of 2010.http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-0819-blagojevich-20100819,0,1394647.story

Blagojevich says that he will not accept a plea deal from the government in the event of a second trial. "I am absolutely very determined to continue to seek vindication, full vindication. I have done absolutely nothing wrong.", he said in an interview with the Today Show. Commenting on the charges prosecutors leveled against him, he added, "They are trying to criminalize political behavior and in any case there was no behavior, there was strictly discussion and ideas flowing openly with lawyers and advisers".http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67J2L920100820

Several of Blagojevich's personal belongings were auctioned off on August 19, 2010 after he failed to make payments on a storage unit. The auctioned items included a life-size Elvis Presley statue, a full set of law books, a photograph of Abraham Lincoln and campaign buttons. The proceeds went to the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/us/20auction.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Blagojevich has been charged with 16 felony counts, including racketeering, extortion and wire fraud. His brother and four advisers have also been indicted. On April 14, 2009, Blagojevich pleaded not guilty to all 16 criminal counts. When asked by reporters what his legal strategy would be during trial, he answered, "the truth."http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/us/15illinois.html?ref=us

The Illinois House voted to impeach Blagojevich on January 9, 2009. The vote was 114-1.http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/ny-usblag0110,0,435729.story His impeachment trial began on January 26, 2009.

On the second day of Blagojevich's trial, the Illinois Senate heard portions of FBI wiretap recordings made in December 2008. During the phone conversations, Blagojevich can be heard discussing an attempt to get a campaign contribution from a horse racing executive, in exchange for signing legislation benefiting the horse racing industry.http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/27/blagojevich-says-resigning-option/ http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1399494,blagojevich-impeach-trial-tapes-listen-012709.article

While Blagojevich initially "boycotted" his trial in favor of media appearances, he delivered a closing argument before Illinois Senators on January 29, 2009.http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/29/blagojevich-reverses-course-closing-argument/ On the same day, the Illinois State Senate voted to remove Blagojevich from office. The vote was 59 in favor, none against the action. With this vote he becomes only the eighth governor in U.S. history to be removed from office. Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn was be sworn in as the replacement for Blagojevich.http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/2350B2CC902716628625754D006FDE91?OpenDocument

In his first public statement since the filing of the criminal complaints, Blagojevich maintained his innocence in a press conference on December 19, 2008, claiming that he would fight the allegations of corruption "every step of the way."http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/blagojevich-to-make-statement/

On January 23, 2009, Blagojevich held a press conference in which he again said he is innocent. Blagojevich said that the rules in the State Senate impeachment trial are unfair. He criticized the fact that testimonies that might jeopardize the criminal corruption trial will not be allowed, which means Blagojevich can't call some of the witnesses he would like to testify. Blagojevich said that the editorial boards of newspapers should call on the State Senate to change the rules in the impeachment trial.http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/3715808.php?contentType=4&contentId=3404847

On January 26, 2009, Blagojevich appeared on an episode of The View. During the panel interview, Blagojevich revealed that he had considered appointing Oprah Winfrey to the senate seat vacated by President Obama. Blagojevich once again stated that he had not committed any criminal acts and claimed that the impeachment proceedings against him were "unconstitutional," since he was "not allowed to bring witnesses in to prove (his) innocence."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G24ZZm4e4bw

On February 26, 2008 a federal judge confirmed that Blagojevich was "Public Official A," a key beneficiary of the alleged fraud and extortion rackets operated by Antoin Tony Rezko. As such, he became a key figure in the legal investigation associated with the Tony Rezko Trial.

On December 9, 2008, both Blagojevich and his chief of staff were arrested by the FBI on federal corruption charges. It is alleged that Blagojevich and Harris conspired to demand the firing of of an editorial board member of the Chicago Tribune. They also allegedly sought to benefit financially from the appointments of state boards and commissions positions as well as state jobs and contracts.http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/source-feds-take-gov-blagojevich-into-custody.html

Blagojevich was taken into federal custody on the morning of December 9, 2008, on federal corruption charges.http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/source-feds-take-gov-blagojevich-into-custody.html

According to the U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, Blagojevich "put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism."http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/source-feds-take-gov-blagojevich-into-custody.html

On December 30, 2008, Blagojevich named former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill President Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. U.S. Senate majority leader Harry Reid has said that Democrats would not seat anyone put forward by Blagojevich. After first being refused a seat, Burris was sworn into the Senate on January 15, 2009.

In his first public comments following his removal from office, Blagojevich stated on February 3, 2009, that his removal from office constituted a 'hijacking' by the lawmakers of Illinois and an abuse of power. Appearing on The Today Show, he stated that he felt the impeachment process was incomplete since he was not allowed to bring forth witnesses to prove his innocence. Later the same day, on The Late Show with David Letterman, he stated "I'm certain of being vindicated."http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/02/03/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4773911.shtml

Blagojevich has also been offered a contract with the Illinois minor league baseball team, the Joliet JackHammers. Although the contract includes perks normally offered to veteran players, as a rookie, the former governor has been offered a special seat on the team bus as well as tie-in promotions such as a bobble-haired doll (the hair moves, not the head). Blagojevich's representatives have not yet responded to the offer, which was presented February 10, 2009.

Blagojevich announced on June 30, 2009 that his autobiography "The Governor: The Truth Behind the Political Scandal That Continues to Rock the Nation" will be released on September 8, 2009 on Amazon.com.