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Rod Blagojevich
Milorad Blagojevich, (born December 10, 1956) commonly known as Rod R. Blagojevich, is a Democratic politician and the former Governor of the state of Illinois. He is the second Serbian American to be elected governor of any state of the United States (George Voinovich from Ohio was the first).
Blagojevich previously served as a representative of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States Congress.
Biography
A native of Chicago, IL, Blagojevich spent much of his childhood working odd jobs, including spending time as a shoe shiner, a pizza delivery boy, a worker at a meat packing plant, and a dishwasher with the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System.[1]
He graduated from Chicago's Foreman High School after transferring from Lane Technical College Prep High School. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Tampa in Florida. Two years later, he transferred to Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1979. He attended Pepperdine University law school and obtained his J.D. in 1983.
Upon his return to Chicago, Blagojevich entered the legal profession in the public sector. He served as a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney, prosecuting domestic abuse crimes and felony weapons cases.[2]
Education
- J.D. - Pepperdine University School of Law (1983)
- Bachelor's of Arts - Northwestern University (1979)
Political career
Governor of Illinois (2003-2009)
Blagojevich assumed the office of Illinois governor on January 13, 2003. Following his arrest on charges of an attempt to sell the vacant U.S. Senate seat, Blagojevich was impeached on January 8, 2009, and removed from office on January 29, 2009.
United States House of Representatives (1996-2002)
In 1996, Blagojevich defeated Republican incumbent Michael Patrick Flanagan and served three terms in the United States House of Representatives.
Illinois State House of Representatives, District 33 (1992-1996)
Blagojevich won election to the Illinois General Assembly in 1992. He served until 1996 when he was elected to the U.S. House.
Elections
2006
Blagojevich formally launched his 2006 re-election campaign for Governor of Illinois on February 19, 2006 [1]. He defeated challenger Edwin Eisendrath in the Democratic Party primary election on March 21.
On November 7, he was declared winner in the re-election campaign against challengers Judy Baar Topinka and Rich Whitney.
2002
In 2002, Blagojevich ran for his party's nomination to become governor. Blagojevich won the primary against former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris and Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas.
In the general election, Blagojevich defeated Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan (R).
Noteworthy events
Federal arrest and corruption charges
On December 9, 2008, Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John F. Harris were arrested on federal corruption charges. According to the Chicago Tribune, "Authorities alleged the two conspired in a scheme to shake down campaign donors and politicians for high-paying posts and millions of dollars in campaign contributions."[3]
On January 8, 2009, the Illinois House of Representatives voted to impeach Blagojevich by a 114–1 vote on the grounds of corruption and misconduct in office.[4] He was then convicted and removed from office by the Illinois State Senate with a unanimous 59–0 vote on January 29, 2009. [5]The state Senate appointed Pat Quinn (D) as his replacement.
Blagojevich's criminal trial in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals began June 3, 2010.[6] He was ultimately sentenced to 14 years in prison.[7]
On July 21, 2015, a federal appeals court threw out five of Blagojevich's 18 convictions and vacated his sentence based on an appeal by the former governor. The prosecutors then had two options: retry the five thrown-out counts or move forward to resentencing on the remaining 13 counts against Blagojevich. The prosecutors decided the latter.[7]
In August 2015, Blagojevich asked the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider the case and was denied. A week later, he asked the same court to delay resentencing while he and his lawyers could petition the U.S. Supreme Court. This motion was also denied, and a resentencing date was not set.[8] On March 28, 2016, the Supreme Court denied Blagojevich's request to hear his appeal.[9]
Blagojevich's next court date was his resentencing hearing on August 9, 2016, in which Judge Zagel decided to uphold the former Governor's original 14-year sentence, meaning that he would not be released until 2024.[10] After his resentencing, Blagojevich's next attempt at appeal was rejected on April 21, 2017.[11] On May 22, 2017, Blagojevich again requested an en banc hearing before the entire 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.[12] On June 5, 2017, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Blagojevich's request.[13]
On November 2, 2017, Blagojevich issued another appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court, asking that his sentence be revisited or overturned, contending that the earlier trials had not used the correct legal standard in delineating what spending was legal and what was illegal: "It is all too easy to cast entirely lawful interactions as having an illegal subtext, particularly when jurors may find the reality of campaign fundraising distasteful or the defendant is politically unpopular."[14][15]
On April 16, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Blagojevich's appeal. According to ABC 7, "The court's refusal to hear Blagojevich's appeal effectively puts an end to his conventional legal options." The Supreme Court did not provide an explanation for its decision.[16][17]
On February 18, 2020, President Trump (R) commuted Blagojevich's remaining prison sentence.[18]
On May 18, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court disbarred Blagojevich.[19] The Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission had recommended Blagojevich's disbarment in March 2020. Blagojevich did not appeal the recommendation. He said in a statement, “I haven’t practiced law since 1995...Imagine yourself sitting on a plane and then the pilot announces before takeoff that he hasn’t flown in 25 years. Wouldn’t you want to get off that plane? I don’t want to hurt anybody.”[20]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Blagojevich is married to the former Patricia Mell, daughter of Chicago Alderman Richard Mell. The couple has two daughters, Amy and Anne. Anne was born just months after her father was sworn in as governor. Blagojevich has no middle name, but uses the initial "R" in honor of his late father Radisaz Blagojevich.[21]
See also
External links
- Official Website of Governor Rod R. Blagojevich
- New York Times - Times Topics: Rod Blagojevich
- On the Issues: Rod Blagojevich
- Federal Election Commission campaign finance reports and date 2001-2002
Footnotes
- ↑ SAN Dnevne Novine, "Hercegovac pokušao prodati Obaminu senatorsku funkciju," accessed January 9, 2009
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Rod Blageojevich's Biography," accessed January 30, 2013
- ↑ "Blagojevich co-defendant resigns post," Chicago Tribune, December 13, 2008
- ↑ ABC News, "Illinois House Votes to Impeach Blagojevich," January 9, 2009
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been removed from office," January 30, 2009
- ↑ "Blagojevich case timeline," Chicago Sun-Times, June 14, 2010
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Governing, "Imprisoned Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich Gets Some Convictions Thrown Out," July 22, 2015
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Former Gov. Blagojevich's resentencing won't be delayed by appeal," August 24, 2015
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "U.S. Supreme Court denies Blagojevich appeal; Patti 'incredibly disappointed'," March 28, 2016
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Blagojevich faces 8 years more in prison after judge sticks to 14-year term," August 9, 2016
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich loses appeal as judges quickly uphold 14-year prison term," April 21, 2017
- ↑ WGN9, "Blagojevich pursues another appeal," May 22, 2017
- ↑ Reuters, "No rehearing for ex-Illinois Governor Blagojevich; appeal planned," June 5, 2017
- ↑ Politico Magazine, "Rod Blagojevich Is Asking for Mercy. His Case Is Stronger Than You Might Think." November 2, 2017
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Blagojevich again asks Supreme Court to hear his appeal," November 3, 2017
- ↑ ABC 7, "I-TEAM Supreme Court denies request to hear Rod Blagojevich appeal," April 16, 2018
- ↑ ABC News, "Supreme Court again refuses to hear Blagojevich appeal," April 16, 2018
- ↑ Chicago Sun Times, "Trump commutes prison sentence of disgraced ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich," February 18, 2020
- ↑ Chicago Sun-Times, "Rod Blagojevich is disbarred," May 18, 2020
- ↑ Chicago Sun-Times, "Blagojevich not eager to practice law, likening self to rusty pilot: ‘I don’t want to hurt anybody’," March 3, 2020
- ↑ The Chicago Tribune, accessed August 3, 2010
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