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Rod Blagojevich

1. Why He Matters
2. At a Glance
3. Path to Power
1. 3.1. Federal Investigation
2. 3.2. Pay-to-Play
3. 3.3. Burris Appointment
4. 3.4. Impeachment
4. The Issues
1. 4.1. Health Care
2. 4.2. Prescription Drugs
3. 4.3. Violent Video Games
5. The Network
1. 5.1. Barack Obama
2. 5.2. Richard Mell
3. 5.3. Rahm Emanuel

Current Position: Former Illinois Governor (since January 2009)

Table of Contents

1. Why He Matters
2. At a Glance
3. Path to Power
1. 3.1. Federal Investigation
2. 3.2. Pay-to-Play
3. 3.3. Burris Appointment
4. 3.4. Impeachment
4. The Issues
1. 4.1. Health Care
2. 4.2. Prescription Drugs
3. 4.3. Violent Video Games
5. The Network
1. 5.1. Barack Obama
2. 5.2. Richard Mell
3. 5.3. Rahm Emanuel

Why He Matters

Before his indictment in April 2009 on federal corruption charges, Blagojevich, a Chicago-born Democrat, had enjoyed a steady, decade-long rise in the city’s old-style political machine. And the insidious political corruption that enshrouded that machine had always worked to his advantage. He has pleaded not guilty to 16 charges of criminal corruption.

But now, the same machine that fomented the governor’s rise has impeached him for abuse of power related to allegedly attempting to sell President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald unveiled a criminal complaintThe Associated Press, USAToday.com, Jan. 23, 2009 against the governor on Dec. 9, 2008. He was indicted on April 2, 2009. Despite hours of supposedly incriminating wire-tapped phone conversations, Blagojevich proclaimed his innocence and appointed Roland Burris, a perennial candidate and former Illinois attorney general, to the Senate. Burris was seated on Jan. 15, 2009, a week after Blagojevich was impeached almost unanimously by the Illinois House.

On Jan. 29, the Illinois Senate voted 59-0 to remove Blagojevich from office and to bar him from holding political office in Illinois ever again.

Blagojevich couldn’t have won the governorship in the first place without the help of one particularly well-connected Chicago Democrat: Alderman Richard Mell, whose daughter, Patricia, he married in 1990. He won his first elected office in the Illinois General Assembly two years later.

With his trademark helmet of thick, brown hair, a self-deprecating charm and his penchant for quoting Elvis Presley lyrics and obscure Chicago Cubs statistics, Blagojevich is, ironically, a former prosecutor. He ran for office, as most former prosecutors do, as an anti-crime candidate.Criminal Complaint Against Gov. Rod Blagojevich And though his legislative accomplishments were modest, he jumped at the chance to run for Congress in a seat left vacant by the arrest of another Chicago power player, Dan Rostenkowski.

He won that seat in 1991, and was elected governor in 2002, becoming the first Democratic Illinois chief executive in 30 years after the conviction of his predecessor, ex-Gov. George Ryan (R). But Blagojevich may share the same closing act with both infamous Chicago pols – a jail cell.

Blagojevich has compared his arrest to Pearl Harbor DayLong, Ray and Parsons, Christi, “Pulling No Punches,” The Chicago Tribune, Oct. 25, 2006 and boycotted his Senate impeachment trial, instead launching an aggressive media blitz to maintain his innocence.

At a Glance

Current Position: Former governor of Illinois (since January 2009)

Career History: Governor of Illinois (2003 to 2009); Congress (Ill.-5th; 1997 to 2003); Illinois House of Representatives, (1993 to 1997)

Birthday: Dec. 10, 1956

Hometown: Chicago, Ill.

Alma Mater: Northwestern University, Bachelor, 1979; Pepperdine School of Law, J.D., 1983

Spouse: Patricia Mell Blagojevich

Religion: N/A

Office: N/A

Email: N/A

Web site

Path to Power

Blagojevich’s competitive – some say combative – nature was evident early on. He once changed high schools to improve his chances of making the basketball team and enjoyed a brief 1-1 career as a Gold Gloves boxer.

He worked his way through college shining shoes, delivering pizza, working in a meat-packing plant and washing dishes on the Alaska pipeline. But by his own admission, he was a mediocre student who, after two years at Tampa University, transferred to Northwestern University in suburban Chicago, where he got a bachelor’s degree in 1979. He got his law degree from Pepperdine University even though he liked to brag, “I barely knew where the law library was.”Felsenthal, Carol, “Governor Sunshine,” Chicago Magazine, Nov. 2003

Immediately after college, Blagojevich, insinuated himself into the upper echelon of Chicago’s Democratic machine. His first job was with city alderman Edward Vrdolyak,Bernstein, David, “Mr. Un-Popularity,” Chicago Magazine, Feb. 2008 who escaped charges in a 1960 murder case but who in 2007 was indicted on federal fraud charges rooted in Vrdolyak’s long career as a behind-the-scenes political kingmaker.Dan Mihalopoulos, Jeff Cohen and Ray Gibson, “Feds catch up with “Fast Eddie” Vrdolyak,” The Chicago Tribune, May 17, 2007

Blagojevich, who maintained a small private law practice, got a job as a prosecutor in traffic court under Cook County’s young State’s Attorney, Richard M. Daley, the son and eventual successor of Chicago’s original machine boss, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley.Felsenthal, Carol, “Governor Sunshine,” Chicago Magazine, Nov. 2003 But Blagojevich’s political career really started after he married into the politically connected family of Chicago Alderman Richard Mell,Felsenthal, Carol, “Governor Sunshine,” Chicago Magazine, Nov. 2003 the man who would speed along Blagojevich’s rise in a town where the first and most important question job seekers are asked is “Who sent you?”Felsenthal, Carol, “Governor Sunshine,” Chicago Magazine, Nov. 2003

Blagojevich met Patricia Mell at a 1988 fundraiser for her father. They married in 1990 and two years later Blagojevich made his first run for political office, a Chicago-based House seat in the Illinois General Assembly. Naturally, he got significant help from his father-in-law.Kreisler, Harry, “Abner Mikva Interview,” Conversations with History Series, Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkley, April 12, 1999

Blagojevich’s youthful looks, boundless energy and an enviable ability to raise campaign cash in big chunks made him a natural on the campaign trail. His son-of-an-immigrant, blue-collar background enhanced his appeal in Chicago’s influential ethnic neighborhoods and heavily influenced his progressive populist politics.Felsenthal, Carol, “Governor Sunshine,” Chicago Magazine, Nov. 2003

His father, Radisa Blagojevich, a former prisoner of war, arrived from Serbia in 1945 to work in a Chicago steel mill. His mother, Mila Govedarica, a child of immigrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina, was a ticket-taker for the Chicago Transit Authority. He and his older brother, Rob, grew up in a North Side home immersed in Serbian culture and language.Long, Ray and Parsons, Christi, “Pulling No Punches,” The Chicago Tribune, Oct. 25, 2006

Rostenkowski lost his 1994 re-election to Republican Michael Flanagan in 1994 after being charged with embezzlement of the U.S. House bank and fraud. But Blagojevich easily dispatched Flanagan in the heavily Democratic district in 1996, the year Rostenkowski pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to 17 months in prison.“Rod Blagojevich Biography,” Biography.com

Blagojevich’s shining moment in Congress came in 1999 when he accompanied the Rev. Jesse Jackson to Yugoslavia to negotiate with President Slobodan Milosevic for the release of three U.S. servicemen being held as prisoners of war.“Dan Rostenkowski,” Internet Accuracy Project

In 2001, when political corruption charges felled another senior Illinois politician, Gov. George Ryan, a Republican, Blagojevich jumped at the chance to advance. He ran for governor as the reform candidate who would eliminate the state’s notorious pay-to-play politics that sent Ryan to prison for more than six years.

“A governor must be willing to take on the special interests, not carry their water," Blagojevich said at a 2001 campaign rally at the Chicago steel mill where his father once worked. "It means shaking up a system that serves itself instead of the people."Bernstein, David, “Mr. Un-Popularity,” Chicago Magazine, Feb. 2008

Blagojevich won 52 percent of the vote to become the first Democrat elected governor in Illinois in 30 years. His interest in actually being governor, though, appeared lacking. He and his wife refused to move into the executive mansion in Springfield and he preferred to work from home or his Chicago campaign office, making him less accessible to lawmakers. Other state officials began to complain that Blagojevich was more interested in photo ops and attention-grabbing but unworkable policies like banning junk food in schools rather than in the nuts-and-bolts of running a state government.Lin, Joanna, “Blagojevich ran on an anti-corruption platform,” The Los Angeles Times, Dec. 10, 2008

Federal Investigation

Federal authorities began looking into the way Blagojevich was doling out state jobs and board appointments as early as 2003 as part of an investigation they dubbed Operation Board Games.Wills, Christopher, “Blagojevich Loves to Fight, Rarely Wins,” Associated Press via Huffington Post, Dec. 14, 2008 Despite those troubles, Blagojevich raised $27 million and won re-election in 2006 with 50 percent of the vote.Chase, John and Long, Ray, “Subpoenas add details of Blagojevich probe,” The Chicago Tribune, Dec. 29, 2008

Blagojevich’s political career came crashing down around him on Dec. 9, 2008, on the eve of his 52nd birthday, when the telephone in his North Side home rang just a few minutes before 6 a.m. Robert Grant, the FBI’s special agent in charge of the Chicago office, was on the other end. Agents were waiting at the governor’s door with a warrant for his arrest on a host of public-corruption charges, Grant told him. “Is this a joke?” Blagojevich responded.Davey, Monica, “Two Sides of a Troubled Governor, Sinking Deeper,” The New York Times, Dec. 15, 2008

Political corruption had cleared the way for Blagojevich’s rise and provided him with an opportunity to seize the state’s highest office. But it finally claimed him, too. Topping the charges against him was his attempt to enrich himself by auctioning off the U.S. Senate seat vacated by then President-elect Barack Obama. The Senate seat “is a (expletive) valuable thing, you don’t just give it away for nothing,” Blagojevich allegedly said in one recording.Chase, John, “FBI moves in with pre-dawn call to Blagojevich,” The Chicago Tribune, Dec. 19, 2008 He was indicted on April 15, 2009.Korecki, Natasha, "Blagojevich, brother indicted," Chicago Sun-Times, April 2, 2009

Pay-to-Play

Federal authorities now say Blagojevich may have been trading state jobs and contracts for campaign contributions before he was even formally sworn in as Illinois’ 40th governor in 2002.“Fitzgerald press conference on Blagojevich Transcript,” Chicago Sun-Times/Federal News Service, Dec. 9, 2008 An investigation by The Chicago Tribune found that of the 235 individuals, companies and interest groups that contributed $25,000 to Blagojevich’s campaigns, three-quarters got jobs, contracts or other favors in return.Chase, John and Long, Ray, “Subpoenas add details of Blagojevich probe,” The Chicago Tribune, Dec. 29, 2008

With the indictments of numerous associates, Blagojevich knew he was being watched. But he allegedly continued to talk openly of trading Obama’s Senate seat for a cabinet post or ambassadorship in the Obama administration or lucrative outside jobs for himself and his wife. Blagojevich even complained that Obama was offering “nothing but appreciation” if Blagojevich filled the vacancy with someone Obama preferred. “(Expletive) them,” Blagojevich said in one call.Jeffrey Meitrodt, Ray Long and John Chase, “The governor’s $25,000 club,” The Chicago Tribune, April 27, 2008

Federal authorities also taped conversations in which Blagojevich discussed withholding state tax assistance that Tribune Co. sought to help with its sale of Wrigley Field unless the company’s flagship newspaper, The Chicago Tribune, fired editorial writers who’d been critical of Blagojevich. “Get us some editorial support,” he told his top aide, John Harris. Blagojevich’s wife, Patti, can be heard on one tape shouting in the background, “Hold up that (expletive) Cubs (expletive). (Expletive) them.”“Fitzgerald press conference on Blagojevich Transcript,” Chicago Sun-Times/Federal News Service, Dec. 9, 2008

Pay-to-play was nothing new to Illinois politics. Four of the last eight governors of Illinois, both Republicans and Democrats, were jailed on corruption charges.“Fitzgerald press conference on Blagojevich Transcript,” Chicago Sun-Times/Federal News Service, Dec. 9, 2008

But even by Illinois’ standards, Blagojevich’s exploits were extreme, federal and state officials said. Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, labeled Blagojevich’s actions a “political corruption crime spree.”Gaines, Brian J., “Elect, indict, repeat, Will democracy, Illinois style, ever change?” Illinois Issues magazine, Jan. 2007 Cindy Canary, who catalogs Chicago-style corruption as head of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said, “In all the millions of indictments I’ve read over the last years, I can’t remember anything as vile as this.”“Fitzgerald press conference on Blagojevich Transcript,” Chicago Sun-Times/Federal News Service, Dec. 9, 2008

Even Rostenkowski claimed to be taken aback.Saulny, Susan, “Portrait of a Politician: Vengeful and Profane,” New York Times, Dec. 10, 2008 “I find his reported behavior troubling,” Rostenkowski wrote on The Daily Beast web site shortly after Blagojevich’s arrest. “There’s a big difference between running a sloppy office and staging a personally-beneficial auction to make policy and personnel decisions. That’s what disturbs the public. It bothers me, too.”

Blagojevich, free on bail, returned immediately to work as governor despite a deluge of calls for his resignation by every top state official and Obama.

“I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” Blagojevich told reporters ten days after his arrest in his first public remarks on the case against him. “I intend to stay on the job. I will fight, I will fight, I will fight. I’m not going to quit a job the people hired me to do because of false accusations and a political lynch mob.”Rostenkowski, Dan, “In Defense of Chicago Politics,” The Daily Beast, Dec. 12, 2008

Burris Appointment

Despite pressure from Obama and Senate Democrats, the Illinois General Assembly refused to take up legislation that would strip Blagojevich of his power to name Obama’s successor, and the Illinois State Supreme Court refused as well.“Transcript: Blagojevich News Conference,” The Chicago Sun-Times, Dec. 19, 2008

And so on Dec. 30, 2008, the governor plunged the state deeper into political and constitutional chaos by naming former state attorney general Roland Burris to take Obama’s place as the only African-American in the U.S. Senate. "Please don't allow the allegations against me to taint a good and honest man," Blagojevich said at a news conference announcing his choice.Colindres, Adriana, “State supreme court rejects request to strip Blagojevich of his powers,” The (Springfield, Ill.) State Journal Register, Dec. 18, 2008

Five Democratic Senate leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid of Nevada and Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, immediately issued a joint statement saying they would not seat Burris in the Senate. Obama praised Burris as “a good man and a fine public servant,” but backed the lawmakers’ threat not to seat anyone appointed “by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat.”McKinney, Dave and Fusco, Chris, “Blagojevich names Roland Burris to Obama’s Senate seat,” The Chicago Sun-Times,” Dec. 30, 2008

But bowing to pressure, Senate Democrats ultimately seated Burris. It's unclear if he will run again in 2010.

Impeachment

Blagojevich’s decision to appoint Burris prompted state lawmakers to accelerate impeachment proceedings against the governor. On Jan. 9, 2009, the House voted to impeach the governor, 114 to 1, with three members voting present.

Since his arrest, Blagojevich remains a defiant but isolated figure in Illinois. About two-thirds of the state legislature supports a call for Blagojevich’s immediate resignation or, barring that, a swift impeachment, according to a survey done by the Rockford Register Star and GateHouse News Service.Pearson, Rick and Long, Ray, “Blagojevich snubs Senate, taps Burris for seat,” The Chicago Tribune, Dec. 30, 2008 A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted just before Blagojevich’s arrest showed an approval rating of 15 percent, making him “one of the nation’s most unpopular governors, if not the most unpopular.”Keith, Ryan, “Legislators favor Blagojevich’s resignation,” GateHouse News Service/The Rockford Register Star, Dec. 13, 2008

The Illinois Senate conducted a trial after the House voted to impeach. Blagojevich went on a media binge instead of attending the trial, talking to Good Morning America, The View, The Rachel Maddow Show, and anyone else who would talk to him. On the final day of the trial, he showed up in Springfield, Ill., to make a closing argument in which he said once again that he had done nothing wrong as governor. "There was never a conversation where I intended to break any law. I'm appealing to you and your sense of fairness." His plea made litte difference, and the Senate voted 59-0 both to remove him from office and to bar him from holding political office in Illinois in the future. "I predicted it," Blagojevich said after the trial. "The fix was in from the beginning." Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn, who was elected with Blagojevich but hasn't talked to the governor since 2007, was immediately sworn in as governor.“Illinois Governor Never Popular Among Voters,” Rasmussen Reports, Dec. 9, 2008

The Issues

Health Care

In 2007, Blagojevich proposed a $2 billion-a-year universal health insurance program funded by new taxes on business. He didn’t win a single vote in the state House. When he tried to expand a federal-state health insurance program for low-income families to include households that earned as much as $83,000 a year, he was blocked by the courts.

Lawmakers argued that Blagojevich’s abrasive style and dismissive attitude toward the General Assembly helped doom his proposals.

Prescription Drugs

To lower the cost of prescription drugs, Blagojevich proposed allowing senior citizens to buy their drugs from Canada and Europe, despite a federal ban on such sales. In 2004, during a nationwide shortage of the flu vaccine, Blagojevich again bucked federal law and bought about 300,000 doses from European sources at a cost of more than $2.6 million. When the federal government blocked the deal, Blagojevich donated the vaccine to Pakistan, which deemed it too unsafe to use.

Violent Video Games

Decrying the violence in some video games, Blagojevich tried to ban the sale of those games to minors. A federal judge ruled that such a ban violated the First Amendment rights of game manufacturers and ordered the state to reimburse the industry $520,000 in legal fees.

The Network

Barack Obama

The state that gave the nation Lincoln and Capone underscored its social and political duality by elevating Obama and Blagojevich to the national stage in 2008. As contemporary rising political stars, their paths crossed while Obama was a state senator and Blagojevich was governor. Obama advised Blagojevich’s first gubernatorial campaign in 2002 and campaigned for him in 2006 even as federal authorities were investigating the governor. They also had mutual associates such as Mike Strautmanis, who is now in Obama's Office of Public Liaison, and Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who was convicted in June 2008 on fraud and bribery charges. Obama’s aides say he purposefully distanced himself from Blagojevich. Federal prosecutors said Obama was unaware that Blagojevich was trying to auction off his old Senate seat.

Richard Mell

The longtime Chicago alderman did more than anyone to propel his son-in-law’s career from the state legislature to Congress to the governor’s office. But the two have been estranged since Blagojevich shut down a landfill operated by a Mell family relative in 2004. Mell, who no longer gets to see his two granddaughters, has defended his daughter, Patricia Mell Blagojevich, saying she “had blinders on” when it came to Blagojevich.

Rahm Emanuel

Obama’s new chief of staff took over the congressional seat Blagojevich left to run for governor. The two worked together on plans to allow Illinois residents to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and Europe, and on a plan blocked by the federal government to buy flu vaccine from abroad during a nationwide shortage in 2004. Emanuel talked repeated with Blagojevich and his top aides about Obama’s Senate seat, but an internal report by the Obama team said the two never discussed cutting a deal.Slevin, Peter and Lyderson, Kari, "Illinois Senate votes to oust Gov. Rod Blagojevich," The Washington Post, Jan. 29, 2009

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