Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich delivers a statement with his wife, Patti, at his side, on his last full day of freedom at his home on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, in Chicago.
Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune
In this March 15, 2012, file photo, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich departs his Chicago home for Littleton, Colo., to begin his 14-year prison sentence on corruption charges.
The Associated Press
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, center, walks with attorneys as he arrives at the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Littleton, Colo., on Thursday, March 15, 2012, where he began serving his 14-year sentence for corruption.Â
Ed Andrieski, Associated Press
In this Aug. 15, 2007 file photo, Illinois former Gov. Rod Blagojevich holds an "I Love Elvis" bumper sticker at the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen's Association meeting in Springfield, Ill.Â
CHICAGO — Rod Blagojevich is a former Democratic governor of Illinois. He is serving a 14-year prison sentence following his 2011 conviction on federal public corruption charges, including attempts to profit off of his power to fill the former U.S. Senate seat of then-President-elect Barack Obama.
Rod Blagojevich, the former Governor of Illinois, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He has served 7 years. Many people have asked that I study the possibility of commuting his sentence in that it was a very severe one. White House staff is continuing the review of this matter.
In 2009, the Illinois Senate voted, 59-0, to convict Gov. Rod Blagojevich of abuse of power and throw him out of office nearly two months after the second-term Democrat's arrest on charges of trying to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.
In 2008, a defiant Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich named former state Attorney General Roland Burris to Barack Obama's Senate seat, a surprise move that put the governor's opponents in the uncomfortable position of trying to block his choice from becoming the Senate's only black member. (Burris was sworn in as a U.S. senator the following month.)Â
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich delivers a statement with his wife, Patti, at his side, on his last full day of freedom at his home on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, in Chicago.
In 2009, the Illinois Senate voted, 59-0, to convict Gov. Rod Blagojevich of abuse of power and throw him out of office nearly two months after the second-term Democrat's arrest on charges of trying to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.
In 2008, a defiant Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich named former state Attorney General Roland Burris to Barack Obama's Senate seat, a surprise move that put the governor's opponents in the uncomfortable position of trying to block his choice from becoming the Senate's only black member. (Burris was sworn in as a U.S. senator the following month.)Â
In this March 15, 2012, file photo, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich departs his Chicago home for Littleton, Colo., to begin his 14-year prison sentence on corruption charges.
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, center, walks with attorneys as he arrives at the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Littleton, Colo., on Thursday, March 15, 2012, where he began serving his 14-year sentence for corruption.Â
In this Aug. 15, 2007 file photo, Illinois former Gov. Rod Blagojevich holds an "I Love Elvis" bumper sticker at the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen's Association meeting in Springfield, Ill.Â
