Rod Blagojevich

Rod Blagojevich ( blə-GOY-ə-vitch, born December 10, 1956; nicknamed "Blago") is a retired American politician and convicted felon who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 until his impeachment, conviction, and removal from office in 2009. A lifelong Democrat, Blagojevich was a state representative before being elected to Congress representing parts of Chicago. He was elected governor in 2002, the first Democrat to win the office since Dan Walker's victory 30 years earlier, and won reelection to a second term in 2006. Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office for corruption; he solicited bribes for political appointments, including Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat after Obama was elected president in 2008. Blagojevich was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. President Donald Trump commuted his sentence on February 18, 2020, and so after serving almost eight years, the commutation ended his sentence a little over six years early.