Rod Blagojevich
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Rod R. Blagojevich ( 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 governor in 2002, becoming 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 was reelected to a second term in 2006, leading to the passage of a variety of healthcare, gun control, and anti-discrimination bills. In December 2008, a federal investigation led to Blagojevich's arrest on corruption charges after he attempted to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama upon his election to the presidency. Shortly after his arrest, Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office by the Illinois General Assembly. He was also barred by the Illinois Senate's judgement from holding public office in the state again. In June 2011, Blagojevich was convicted in a federal criminal trial for his role in the corruption scandal, and 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. Blagojevich had previously been a contestant on Trump's reality series The Celebrity Apprentice. Blagojevich subsequently supported 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.