Rod R. Blagojevich
| Rod Blagojevich | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 40th Governor of Illinois | |
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In office January 13, 2003 – January 29, 2009 |
|
| Lieutenant | Pat Quinn |
| Preceded by | George Ryan |
| Succeeded by | Pat Quinn |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 5th district |
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In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Michael Patrick Flanagan |
| Succeeded by | Rahm Emanuel |
| Member of the Illinois House of Representatives | |
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In office 1993–1996 |
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| Preceded by | Myron Kulas |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 10, 1956 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Patricia Mell Blagojevich |
| Children | Amy Blagojevich Anne Blagojevich |
| Residence | Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood, Jefferson County, Colorado |
| Alma mater |
Northwestern University (B.A.) Pepperdine University (J.D.) |
| Profession |
Disbarred Attorney Former Prosecutor |
| Religion | Serbian Orthodox |
| Signature |  |
Rod Blagojevich (/bləˈɡɔɪ.əvɪtʃ/, born December 10, 1956) served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009.
A Democrat, Blagojevich was a state representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives 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. 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 he was elected president in 2008, and Blagojevich was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.
Blagojevich was born in Chicago, Illinois, the second of four children. His father, Radislav, was an immigrant steel plant laborer from a village near Kragujevac, Serbia. His mother, Mila Govedarica, is a Bosnian Serb originally from Gacko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. His parents moved to Chicago in 1947. Blagojevich has a brother, Rob, who worked as a fund-raiser for Blagojevich in his later political career. Blagojevich spent much of his childhood working odd jobs to help the family pay its bills. He was a shoeshiner and pizza delivery boy before working at a meat packing plant. In order to afford university costs, Blagojevich worked for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System as a dishwasher.
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