Eye On Illinois: Predawn arrest of Blagojevich remains memorable turning point

Where were you that Tuesday morning?

It was 15 years ago today, Dec. 9, 2008, when FBI agents visited the home of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to arrest him on what the Chicago Tribune called “a broad array of corruption charges.”

Although there were signs Blagojevich’s administration had been under federal criminal investigation for more than four years – before a plurality of voters gave him a second term in 2006 – the predawn arrest remains a memorable turning point.

“Gov. Blagojevich has been arrested in the middle of what we can only describe as a political corruption crime spree,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, later suggesting the conduct the feds alleged “would make Lincoln roll over in his grave.”

The General Assembly made fairly swift work, with an impeachment committee unanimously recommending the process Jan. 8, 2009, leading to a 114-1 House vote in favor the next day and the Senate voting 59-0 to remove him from office on Jan. 29. State Sen. Michael Frerichs, now state treasurer, then moved to ban Blagojevich from ever holding another state office. The Senate again agreed unanimously.

Criminal proceedings were much less expedient. It would take pages to recount every stop on the timeline from his April 2, 2009, indictment through the Aug. 9, 2016, denial of his final appeal, let alone the February 2020 commutation of his federal prison sentence. Blagojevich’s original expected release date was May 23, 2024.

Perhaps my favorite anecdote from that experience is only a dozen years old. A few days after the Dec. 7, 2011, issuance of the 14-year prison sentence, one of the ex-governor’s lawyers moved for a new trial because the forewoman of the jury that found him guilty of 17 counts several months prior, had appeared at an Aurora high school and “showed sketches of the former governor during his testimony and copies of her jury summons and questionnaire.” U.S. District Judge James Zagel called that attempt “harebrained” and suggested the lawyer who wrote the filing apologize to the juror.

Blagojevich seems content with infamy. There’s no telling how he’ll make his next headline.

(ALSO) ON THIS DAY: Turning to happier occurrences, it’s a banner day for birthdays of Illinoisans who starred on stage and screen. Soprano Emma Abbott worn born in Chicago in 1850; her family moved to Peoria, where she first performed at age 8. Tim Moore was born in Rock Island in 1897. After attempts at boxing, vaudeville and Broadway, Moore starred as “Kingfish” Stevens on TV’s “The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show” in the early 1950s. And in 1904, Robert Randall was born in Quincy. Under the stage name Robert Livingston he appeared in 136 movies, including performances as the Lone Ranger and Zorro.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.