[[Image:Blagojevich with Emanuel.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Blagojevich with Rahm Emanuel]]
[[Image:Blago.jpg|thumb|200px|Like cartoonist Mike Luckovich, most people thought "Blago" was a clown]]
'''Rod R. Blagojevich<ref>http://www.biography.com/articles/Rod-Blagojevich-392652</ref>''' was the Democratic [[Democrat]] [[governor]] of the state of [[Illinois]] from January 13, 2003 until impeachment on January 29, 2009. He was born on December 10, 1956, in [[Chicago]]. Before being elected governor, Blagojevich served as Cook County Assistant State's Attorney and then Representative for Illinois' 5th District in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] (elected in 1996).<ref>http://www.illinois.gov/gov/bio.cfm</ref>
''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that President-Elect [[Barack Obama]] "dispatched [[Rahm Emanuel]] days after the vote to contact aides of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to begin talking up Mr. Obama's preferred candidates" to fill the recently vacated [[United States Senate|U. S. Senate]] seatrecently vacated by Obama, according to associates of Mr. Emanuel.<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122926660096904673.html Blagojevich Aides Discussed Senate Seat], By Jonathan Weisman, Naftali Bendavid and Cam Simpson, ''Wall Street Journal'', December 15, 2008.</ref>
On December 9, 2008, Blagojevich was arrested on corruption charges for attempting to sell the
seat.<ref>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_re_us/blagojevich_corruption_probe</ref> The particular charge was that Blagojevich used the mail and telephone to deprive the Illinois people of honest services under 18 USC 1346. Liberal media outlets were disproportionately quick to declare that then-President-elect Obama had no involvement in the scandal, despite clear evidence to the contrary <ref>http://flapsblog.com/2008/12/15/why-is-barack-obama-lying-about-contact-with-hot-rod-blagojevich-part-3/</ref> including photos of the two together while the governor was trying to sell Obama's seat.<ref>http://www.flickr.com/photos/fullosseousflap/3100630034/</ref>
This also highlights the question of the Chicago "meat grinder" politics, where Obama spent the formative years of his political career.
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[[Category:Illinois Governors]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:Corruption]]