Rod Blagojevich

Rod R. Blagojevich (/bləˈɡɔɪ.əvɪtʃ/ blə-GOY-ə-vitch; born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. 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, Blagojevich graduated from Northwestern University 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 third two-year term in the state legislature, he represented Illinois's 5th congressional district 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. Blagojevich's 2006 reelection to a 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 sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama upon his election to the presidency. Much of the evidence against Blagojevich was already publicly known, so even before his federal trial, he was impeached and removed from office in 2009 by the Illinois General Assembly. He was also barred by the Illinois Senate's judgement from holding public office of the state ever again. The federal jury also found against him, and for his role in the corruption scandal, he was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. President Donald Trump formally commuted his sentence in 2020, after Blagojevich had been imprisoned for nearly eight years, and fully pardoned him in 2025, thus making him eligible to run for public office again. Blagojevich had previously been a contestant on Trump's TV show The Celebrity Apprentice. Blagojevich subsequently supported Donald Trump's 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns, and attended the 2024 Republican National Convention. He has since described himself as a "Trumpocrat".

To date, Blagojevich is the only Illinois governor to be successfully impeached and removed from office.