By Julio Rausseo/Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO – Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich will remain in federal prison after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected his appeal of his corruption convictions.
Blagojevich had appealed his convictions for wire fraud and attempted extortion from campaign contributors. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Blagojevich’s petition, thus upholding the July 2015 decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which threw out five of his 18 convictions. Blagojevich had hoped the high court would toss the remaining 13 convictions.
At the center of the former Democratic governor’s convictions was his attempt to seek money in exchange for filling President Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat in 2008. Blagojevich later appointed Roland Burris. The governor has maintained his innocence, arguing he was practicing legal politicking.
Blagojevich’s lawyers argued in a November filing that the bar between legal and illegal trading of political favors has become unclear, which could leave politicians subjected to unwarranted prosecution.
Currently serving his 14-year prison sentence at the federal prison in Englewood, Colorado, Blagojevich now awaits a resentencing ordered last July by U.S. District Judge James Zagel. No date has been scheduled.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ website, Blagojevich is scheduled to be released in May 2024.
