Running head: FORMER ILLINOIS GOVERNOR ROD BLAGOJEVICH 1
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
Denise Riddle
BS 309
June 7, 2015
I-Eesha Simmons
FORMER ILLINOIS GOVERNOR ROD
BLAGOJEVICH
2
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
Introduction
Rod Blagojevich, erstwhile governor of Illinois, had a checkered career, rising from the
post of Assistant State’s Attorney of Cook County to becoming the Governor of Illinois in 2002.
After he became Governor, his career had a dramatic downfall as he was mired in corruption
charges, resulting in his conviction.
Rise to Political Power
The younger of two children, Rod Blagojevich was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1956. His
father was an immigrant steel plant worker from Serbia and a former Nazi prisoner during World
War II. His mother was the child of immigrants from Bosnia Herzegovina. The family lived in a
