In December 2008, then-Democratic Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff John Harris were charged with corruption by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. As a result, Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois General Assembly and removed from office by the Illinois Senate in January 2009. The federal investigation continued after his removal from office, and he was indicted on corruption charges in April of that year. The jury found Blagojevich guilty in August 2010 of one charge of making false statements with a mistrial being declared on the other 23 counts due to a hung jury after 14 days of jury deliberation. On June 27, 2011, after a retrial, Blagojevich was found guilty of 17 charges (including wire fraud, attempted extortion, and conspiracy to solicit bribes), not guilty on one charge and the jury deadlocked after 10 days of deliberation on the two remaining charges. On December 7, 2011, Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The investigation became public knowledge when a federal judge revealed that Blagojevich was the "Public Official A" in the indictment of Tony Rezko. The case gained widespread attention with the simultaneous arrests of Blagojevich and Harris on the morning of December 9, 2008 at their homes by FBI Special Agents. Blagojevich and Harris were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of soliciting bribes. The case involved sweeping pay to play and influence peddling allegations, including the solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the U.S. Senate as a replacement for Barack Obama, who had resigned after being elected U.S. President. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald noted that there had been no evidence of wrongdoing by Obama.
After the arrest, Illinois elected officials began calling on Blagojevich to resign. The 50 members of the U.S. Senate's Democratic caucus called on Blagojevich to not appoint a senator and pledged not to seat anyone he attempted to appoint. Legislators introduced bills in both houses of the Illinois General Assembly to remove the Governor's power to appoint a senator and require a special election; however, no such bill passed. Blagojevich did eventually appoint Roland Burris to the seat. Despite attempts to keep Burris from taking the seat in the U.S. Senate, he was eventually allowed to take the oath of office. Within days of Blagojevich's arrest, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a motion with the Illinois Supreme Court seeking to declare the Governor "unable to serve" and strip him of the powers of his office. The court denied the request. Meanwhile, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (the Attorney General's father) announced that on December 16 he would begin impeachment proceedings. The state House impeached Blagojevich on January 9, 2009, and the state Senate convicted him 20 days later, thereby removing him; they also disqualified him from holding further office in the state.
Background
Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich had been under investigation for corrupt activity for four years, as part of a broader federal investigation by Patrick Fitzgerald, code-named Operation Board Games, that had been going on for three years. To date, 15 people have been charged in connection with the investigation. Blagojevich had long been suspected to be a target of the investigation, but it was confirmed by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve that he was the "Public Official A" referred to in the federal indictment of Tony Rezko.
Pamela Meyer Davis Pamela Meyer Davis was the president and C.E.O. of Edward Hospital in Naperville, Illinois who was a key witness in the investigation that led to the arrest of the governor of Illinois. She began work in about 1989 at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Illinois. She was leading Edward Hospital in 2004 when the hospital was planning to build a new $90m hospital and a $23m office building in Plainfield. She complained to the FBI that Nicholas Hurtgen, a financier with Bear Stearns, claiming to speak on behalf of Stuart Levine, member of Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, told her that she needed to employ certain companies or the hospital plans would be rejected by the Planning Board. The FBI were initially dubious at her report of wrongdoing.
Her complaints and covert recordings she made led to an investigation that led to the 2008 arrest of Blagojevich. When she retired after 28 years service in 2017, a day in June was identified in her honor.
Investigations Just before the 2008 U.S. general elections, federal investigators were granted authority to tape Blagojevich's conversations. On December 8, 2008, in a press conference, Blagojevich claimed, "whether you tape me privately or publicly, I can tell you that whatever I say is always lawful and the things I'm interested in are always lawful." He further stated that "if anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it. I appreciate anybody who wants to tape me openly and notoriously; and those who feel like they want to sneakily, and wear taping devices, I would remind them that it kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate." After a meeting between Blagojevich and Jesse Jackson Jr. regarding the Senate seat, when asked his thoughts on being the subject of federal tapings, Blagojevich stated "I don't believe there's any cloud that hangs over me, I think there's nothing but sunshine hanging over me"
At 6:15 a.m. on December 9, 2008, Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested at their homes by deputies of the U.S. Marshals Service on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Blagojevich and Harris were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of soliciting bribes. The case involved sweeping pay to play and influence peddling allegations, including the solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the U.S. Senate as a replacement for Barack Obama when the latter resigned after being elected U.S. President. Fitzgerald noted that there had been no evidence of wrongdoing by Obama.
Before the scandal, Blagojevich considered himself as a contender for the 2016 presidential election, but was willing to pursue an interim position as a Cabinet member, a U.S. ambassador, or a high-profile corporate titan instead. The governor viewed his statutory power to appoint a replacement for Obama in the U.S. Senate as convertible currency of the form that could assure this future. Soon after the presidential election, it became very clear to Fitzgerald from his wiretaps that a sale of the Senate seat was imminent; Fitzgerald immediately pressed for Blagojevich's arrest. After the arrest, the prosecution began proceedings to obtain an indictment from a grand jury; this process was granted an extension to April 7, 2009.
A federal grand jury in Illinois returned an indictment against Blagojevich and five other defendants on April 2, 2009. Blagojevich is the seventh Illinois Governor to have been arrested or indicted; and became the fourth to serve a prison sentence, following Dan Walker, who was jailed from 1987 to 1989. As well as the allegations concerning the Senate seat, Blagojevich has also been charged with: Attempting to extort the owners of the Tribune Company to fire Chicago Tribune editors who criticized the governor's handling of state affairs. Abuse of power concerning release of US$8 million of state funds to Children's Memorial Hospital expecting to obtain a $50,000 campaign contribution. Seeking graft in the form of $2.5 million in campaign contributions (through 2008) from companies and individuals who have received state contracts or appointments.
On January 2, 2009, Governor Blagojevich's federal security clearance was revoked by the United States Department of Homeland Security.
In June 2009, it was determined by the judge overseeing the case that the Blagojevich trial would start on June 3, 2010. In the wake of the scandal, reform measures are being proposed. Wisconsin Senator Russell Feingold, who then served as the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights, had stated that he would introduce a constitutional amendment requiring vacant Senate seats be filled by special elections, as the House of Representatives requires; however, nothing ever came of it.
Obama Senate replacement
Fraud involving the appointment of a senator to fill the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama's election as U.S. president has been the most notable charge against Blagojevich. Blagojevich was overheard on a recorded phone call saying, "I've got this thing, and it's fucking golden. I'm just not giving it up for fucking nothing. It's a fucking valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing. If I don't get what I want ... I'll just take the Senate seat myself."
Blagojevich sought the following in exchange for an appointment: A substantial salary for himself at either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions. Placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year. Promises of campaign funds—including cash up front. A Cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself to Serbia.
Following Blagojevich's arrest, Richard Durbin, the U.S. Senator for Illinois who had served alongside Barack Obama, issued a statement regarding the prospective gubernatorial appointment to replace Obama in the Senate: "No appointment by this governor, under these circumstances, could produce a credible replacement". Durbin urged the Illinois General Assembly to quickly set a special election to replace Obama. Durbin noted that Illinois had a need to call a 2009 House of Representatives special election to replace then-Representative and White House Chief of Staff-designate Rahm Emanuel in Illinois's 5th congressional district. Both Illinois Senate President Emil Jones and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan stated that they would call a session of their respective chambers to consider legislation to establish a special election to fill the Obama Senate seat vacancy. Bills were introduced in both houses that would have revoked the Governor's statutory authority to appoint a senator, and would have required a special election instead. Neither house debated the bills, nor were they enacted.
Roland Burris appointment In the midst of the controversy, on December 31, 2008, Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris, a former Illinois Attorney General and the first African American to be elected to statewide office in Illinois, to the vacated Senate seat. Blagojevich stated that, per the Illinois state constitution, he had sole authority to make such an appointment and that it was his duty to ensure Illinois was fully represented in the Senate. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White refused to certify Burris' selection for the vacant Senate seat.