Who Am I?
I am the former Governor of Illinois.

Some of my nicknames:
"Illinois Gov. Rod "The Unreformer" Blagojevich" (John Kass, "Telltale Letter a Staple in Blagojevich Aresenal," Chicago Tribune, 10/8/08)

"Governor Goofy" (Editorial, "Tale of Governor Goofy," Chicago Tribune, 7/28/08)

"Governor Do-Wrong" (Carol Marin, "'Pay to Play' is still Gov. Do-Wrong's motto," Chicago Sun-Times, 8/6/08)

My Broken Promises to the People of Illinois:
I promised reform in my 2003 inaugural address. "We will meet our challenges head on and we will do it by rejecting the politics of mediocrity and corruption. You voted for change; I intend to deliver it...I will govern as a reformer." (Rod Blagojevich's inaugural address, 1/13/03)

I denounced my predecessor's hiring practices and swore to do better. "I intend to use every power I have and my discretion as a governor to eliminate unqualified, unnecessary and overpaid individuals wherever I find them in state government." (Chicago Tribune, 1/2003)

I swore I was ethical, despite reports to the contrary. "We do everything right." (Chicago Tribune, 2/2006)

I guaranteed ethical hiring practices in the Governor's office. "We won't tolerate wrongdoing and that we will work to ferret out wrongdoing and work with those who are on the same side of trying to make sure that people do their work, they do it well, and that we're responsible to the taxpayers." (Chicago Tribune, 6/2006)

What I Said About Ethics:
I assured the people of Illinois that my fundraising was ethical, despite federal subpoenas. "I feel real good about all the different things that we do because we follow the rules and we do things right and at the end of the day, as they say in the Bible, the truth shall set you free. The truth is what it is. And the truth is we do things right." (Jeff Coen and Ray Long, "Feds subpoena Governor's Campaign Fund records," Chicago Tribune, 5/23/07)

I claimed to have reformed Illinois through my "landmark" ethics legislation. "We have made real changes and strides in ethics," the governor said. "It's not perfect. There are all kinds of things going around, but that is sort of the nature of politics, especially when you open a can of worms and are interested in trying to get things done the right way." (Rick Pearson, "Side by side, but far apart," Chicago Tribune, 10/11/06)

I claimed Illinois is in a "better place" because of my actions. "You have to remember how bad things were four years ago--Gov. Ryan was our governor. It's pretty obvious all of the things that happened to him...[f]our years later, I think we're a much better place..." ("A clash over conduct," Chicago Tribune, 10/3/06)

What Happened to me:
I was the first Governor in the history of Illinois to be removed from office - "The Illinois Senate voted to remove Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office Thursday, marking the first time in the state's long history of political corruption that a chief executive has been impeached and convicted. (Ray Long and Rick Pearson, "Illinois Senate removes Governor from office", Chicago Tribune, 1/29/09)

I was indicted in federal court - "Federal prosecutors expanded their case against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday in an indictment that drew more of his closest aides into the scandal and adds new schemes to the list of charges against him: Pocketing money funneled through his wife through a phony real estate job. Shaking down a powerful congressman. Running the state as a racket." (Rich Pearson and Jeff Coen, "FEDS WIDEN NET; U.S. says Blagojevich, crew ran state as racket", Chicago Tribune, 4/3/09)

I tried to go on reality TV, but the judge wouldn't let me - "A federal judge Tuesday denied permission to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to travel to Costa Rica to participate in a reality TV show.

U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel called modifying the terms of Blagojevich's bail on political corruption charges "a bad idea." ("Blago's dose of reality", Chicago Tribune, 4/22/09)

I'm going to trial next summer - "A federal judge on Thursday set former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's trial for next June 3 on sweeping federal corruption charges." ("Blagojevich's trial date is set", Chicago Tribune, 6/26/09)