What is Rod Blagojevich's Net Worth?
Rod Blagojevich is an American former politician who has a net worth of $100 thousand. He is the former Governor of Illinois and a convicted felon. Rod Blagojevich served 8 years of a 14-year sentence for soliciting a bribe. His sentence was commuted four years early in February 2020 by President Donald Trump.
Blagojevich served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Illinois' 5th district from 1997 to 2003. In 2003 he became the 40th Governor of Illinois. He served until 2009 and was the first Democrat in 30 years to win this office in Illinois. He was convicted of corruption, including soliciting bribes for political appointments. These appointments included the 2008 vacant U.S. Senate seat that belonged to Barack Obama, who had recently been elected President.
Rod was arrested by federal agents under the direction of the US Attorney. He was impeached by the Illinois House and Senate in 2009 and sentenced to 14 years at the Federal Correctional Institution in Englewood, Colorado.
Early Life and Education
Rod Blagojevich was born on December 10, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois to Serbian immigrants Radislav and Mila. He has an older brother named Rob. Growing up, Blagojevich took on various jobs to support his family financially, such as working as a shoeshiner, pizza delivery boy, and meat packer. For his education, he went to Lane Technical High School before transferring to Foreman High School. Blagojevich then attended the University of Tampa for two years before transferring to Northwestern University, where he graduated with a BA in history in 1979. Subsequently, he attended Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California, earning his JD in 1983.
Career Beginnings
Blagojevich began his political career clerking for Chicago alderman Edward Vrdolyak. Later, he became an assistant prosecutor under Richard M. Daley. In 1992, Blagojevich was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives from the 33rd state house district. Opting not to seek reelection four years later, he ran for Illinois' 5th congressional district in the US House of Representatives, a race he won decisively. Blagojevich was reelected twice more.
Governor of Illinois
In 2002, Blagojevich launched his campaign for governor of Illinois, significantly supported by his influential father-in-law, alderman Richard Mell. He won the general election by defeating Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan. Blagojevich was reelected in 2006, defeating state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka.
During his term, Blagojevich signed several progressive pieces of legislation. These included death penalty reform, a statewide smoking ban, a state Earned Income Tax Credit, and the expansion of health programs such as KidCare. He also passed a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation by employers and authorities. However, Blagojevich faced criticism for his state spending proposals and often had contentious relationships with other lawmakers.
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Impeachment, Conviction, and Imprisonment
In December 2008, Blagojevich was arrested by federal agents at his home, charged with corruption for threatening to halt the state's dealings with Bank of America over a shuttered factory in Chicago. Furthermore, he was accused of engaging in several pay-to-play schemes, including using bribery to assume the US Senate seat vacated by newly elected President Barack Obama. One of the most incriminating pieces of evidence was an FBI recording of Blagojevich saying:
"I've got this thing, and it's fucking golden. I'm just not giving it up for fucking nothing."
In January 2009, he was impeached by the Illinois House with a vote of 114-1, subsequently removed from office, and barred from ever holding public office in Illinois. Indicted in April 2009 by a federal grand jury, Blagojevich was later convicted of lying to the FBI in August 2010, with his 23 other federal charges resulting in hung verdicts. At his retrial in 2011, he was found guilty of 17 additional charges, including conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. He was sentenced to federal prison in March 2012. As an inmate, Blagojevich served as the lead singer of a prison band called the Jailhouse Rockers. Ultimately, he served eight years in prison until his sentence was commuted by Donald Trump in 2020.
Media Endeavors
After his removal from office in 2009, Blagojevich starred in the musical "Rod Blagojevich Superstar," a production by the Chicago improv group the Second City. He also began hosting a weekly radio talk show on local 890 WLS. Later that year, he published his autobiography "The Governor: The Truth Behind the Political Scandal That Continues to Rock the Nation." In 2010, Blagojevich competed on the ninth season of the reality TV series "The Celebrity Apprentice." After being released from prison in 2020, he returned to WLS radio to start a political podcast called "The Lightning Rod."
Marriage
With his wife Patricia, Blagojevich has two daughters. Patricia, the daughter of former Chicago alderman Richard Mell, served as the First Lady of Illinois during her husband's tenure as governor. In 2009, following her husband's impeachment and removal, she competed on the reality TV show "I'm a Celebrity… Get Me out of Here!"
