Ex-governor sues state over removal

CHICAGO — Ex-convict and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich has sued his home state for booting him from the governor’s seat after his 2008 arrest for corruption and stripping him of his right to run for elective office in Illinois.

Before filing the lawsuit Monday, an unapologetic Blagojevich, 64, addressed reporters outside the same federal courthouse in Chicago where he was convicted, declaring: “I’m back.” He said he hasn’t decided, however, if he will seek to run for anything if he succeeds in eliminating the legal hurdles to doing so.

Then-President Donald Trump freed Blagojevich in February 2020 after he had served eight years of a 14-year sentence, including for trying to sell an appointment to Barack Obama’s old U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash. Leaders of both parties in Illinois sharply criticized Trump’s commutation.

The Illinois House in January 2009 voted 114-1 to impeach Blagojevich, and the state Senate voted unanimously to remove him, making him the first Illinois governor in history to be removed by lawmakers.

Monday’s lawsuit argues the way legislators went about impeaching and ousting him was unconstitutional, including because he wasn’t allowed to call and question witnesses. It seeks a permanent injunction declaring the General Assembly’s actions unconstitutional.

Blagojevich didn’t sound particularly confident about his chances of prevailing, noting for journalists how he had received a C in constitutional law at law school. Because of his felony conviction, he also was stripped of his law license.