Rod Blagojevich was born in Chicago on December 10, 1956, the second of two sons born to a Serbian immigrant father and an American-born Serbian mother. As a teenager, he developed a love of basketball and boxing and later became an avid runner. He married Patricia Mell, whose powerful father, Chicago alderman Richard Mell, helped jump-start his political career, and together they had two daughters. Blagojevich’s political career began in earnest in 1992. Just 10 years later, he became governor of Illinois, a job that ended in his impeachment and removal from office on corruption charges. The former governor’s legal troubles continued to make headlines into 2025, when President Donald Trump issued him a full and unconditional pardon that erased the guilty verdict.
1979
Blagojevich graduates from Northwestern University. (He transferred to Northwestern after starting college at the University of Tampa, where his older brother went to school).
1983
Blagojevich graduates from Pepperdine University School of Law. After law school and before his first elected office, Blagojevich clerks for Chicago Alderman Edward Vrdolyak and then works in the Cook County State’s Attorney office.
1992
In a surprise upset of incumbent Myron Kulas, Blagojevich wins the Democratic primary for the 33rd state house district of the Illinois House of Representatives. He wins the general election that November.
1996
Voters elect Blagojevich to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Illinois’s 5th congressional district. He serves three terms in Congress from 1997 until 2003.
November 5, 2002
Blagojevich beats the Republican candidate, Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, in the general election for Illinois governor. He succeeds Republican Governor George Ryan (no relation to Jim), who later spends time in prison on federal corruption charges. Earlier that year, he won a tightly contested primary campaign for governor against former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris and then-Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas.
November 7, 2006
Blagojevich is re-elected as governor, despite rumors of corruption in his administration
December 9, 2008
Federal agents arrest Blagojevich in the early morning at his home in Chicago’s Ravenswood Manor neighborhood on federal corruption charges, including a “pay-to-play” scheme to allegedly sell President Barack Obama’s former senate seat. He is fingerprinted, booked, and released on bond.
January 9, 2009
The Illinois House of Representatives votes to impeach Blagojevich.
January 29, 2009
After an impeachment trial, the Illinois State Senate unanimously votes to remove Blagojevich from office. Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn is sworn in as the state’s 41st governor.
April 2009
A federal grand jury indicts Blagojevich and several alleged co-conspirators consisting of aides and advisors (including his brother, Robert) on multiple counts of racketeering, wire fraud, extortion, and more. (The indictment is amended in February 2010).
August 17, 2010
Blagojevich is found guilty of one count of lying to federal agents. The remaining 23 charges are declared a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury. (Prosecutors drop the charges against his brother.)
June 27, 2011
During the retrial, Blagojevich is found guilty on 17 counts, including wire fraud, bribery, attempted extortion, and conspiracy. In December 2011, a judge sentences him to 14 years in federal prison, making him the fourth Illinois governor to spend time in prison.
March 15, 2012
Blagojevich reports to federal prison in Colorado.
July 21, 2015
A federal appeals court overturns four of his 18 total convictions. The following year, the U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear the appeal, and a U.S. District judge rules that despite the federal appeals ruling, Blagojevich’s 14-year-sentence stands.
February 18, 2020
President Donald Trump commutes Blagojevich’s prison sentence. He is released the same day, having served eight years of his 14-year sentence. Blagojevich appeared on the president’s former reality show, Celebrity Apprentice, in 2010.
February 25, 2025
President Donald Trump issues a full and unconditional pardon of Blagojevich, meaning his conviction was erased from his record.
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