( On October 11, 2007 then Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich appointed James J.

The relationship between Blagojevich and Madigan hit its low in October 2007, when Blagojevich fired Bronwyn Rains, wife of Madigan's chief of staff Timothy Mapes, from her position of psychologist with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

" Madigan refused to meet with Blagojevich for more than two months after Blagojevich introduced the budget ; rather than the proposed $ 5 billion in increased spending, he recommended $ 1 billion, funded by the ending of a tax break.

Since Madigan's wife, Shirley, is the chair of the IAC, some political observers assumed that the IAC budget cuts are part of the ongoing war between Madigan and Blagojevich.

Despite an annual budget crunch, Blagojevich oversaw an increase in funding for health care every year without raising general sales or income taxes.

Blagojevich was criticized for using what his opponents call " gimmicks " to balance the state budget.

Daley and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich held a joint press conference on January 17, 2006 calling for a state-wide ban on the manufacture, possession, and delivery of semiautomatic assault weapons.

The Tribune broke the story on Friday, May 29, 2009, that several students had been admitted to the University of Illinois based upon connections or recommendations by the school's Board of Trustees, Chicago politicians, and members of the Rod Blagojevich administration.

Although the Tribune criticized the Bush administration's record on civil liberties, the environment, and many aspects of its foreign policy, it continued to support his presidency while taking Democrats, such as Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, to task and calling for their removal from office.

Blagojevich was retried on 20 counts from his 2010 trial and on June 27, 2011, Blagojevich was convicted on 17 counts of fraud, acquitted on one count and the jury was hung on two.

In 2008, the handle of a pool cleaner was erected by 18-year-old student, Mike Tennenhouse, who along with then Governor Rod Blagojevich began " airing grievances " on behalf of the people of Illinois.

In a December 31, 2008 article published on the website of The New York Times, Davis said that he turned down an offer from representatives of Blagojevich to appoint him to the Senate.

On December 9, 2008, Blagojevich was arrested on federal corruption charges including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.

As a result, on January 9, 2009, the Illinois House of Representatives voted by a 114 – 1 vote to impeach Blagojevich for corruption and misconduct in office.

On August 17, 2010, Blagojevich was found guilty of lying to the FBI ; on June 27, 2011, Blagojevich was found guilty on 17 of 20 counts presented during his retrial.

On December 7, 2011, Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison by U. S. District Court Judge James Block Zagel ; he must serve at least 85 percent, or more than 11 1 / 2 years, before he can be released on the federal version of parole, supervised release.

Because Blagojevich did not return punches, the refreee stopped the match ( with Blagojevich still on his feet ), and awarded it to Porter.

Madigan has also had a strained relationship with former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, due at least in part to her father Michael Madigan's ongoing feud with Blagojevich.

During the Blagojevich Senate appointment scandal, Madigan was speculated to be " Senate Candidate # 2 " in the complaint against Blagojevich although no wrongdoing on her part was implied.

Notably, on December 12, 2008, Madigan attracted national attention after filing a motion with the Supreme Court of Illinois to temporarily remove Blagojevich from office and install Lt. Gov.

Madigan and Blagojevich have clashed over Blagojevich's proposals for increased state spending.

Illinois senior Senator Dick Durbin said in 2008 that he receives many constituent complaints about the dispute between Blagojevich and Madigan, with letter writers wanting him to step in to negotiate.

" It's sort of the classic case that you get a guy ( Madigan ) who is steeped in discipline versus a guy who's very undisciplined, like Blagojevich.

Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson and House Republican Leader Tom Cross have often met with Madigan, his Senate counterpart Emil Jones, and Blagojevich in an attempt to referee disputes.

In August 2008, Blagojevich claimed that House Democrats who held City of Chicago jobs were fearful of voting in favor of his 2008 capital bill because they thought Madigan might be able to get them fired.

Blagojevich told reporters: " They fear their leader, Mr. Madigan, and if Mike Madigan tells them to vote a certain way, they will tell you privately, and I've had these discussions with a couple of state reps, one of whom said, ' I'm afraid if I vote for the jobs bill I'll be fired from my job at Streets and Sanitations.

On December 15, 2008, Madigan announced that he was taking steps to initiate impeachment proceedings against Blagojevich.

I think one of the problems is the Governor did sort of seal himself off from all the statewide officials ... Attorney General Madigan and myself and many others ..." Quinn has stated that his relationship with Blagojevich has been estranged at best, pointing out that Blagojevich officially announced that Quinn was not part of his administration in 2006.

In December 2008, following the arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Currie was named by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan as the chairperson of the Illinois House committee to investigate Governor Blagojevich for possible impeachment as a result of federal corruption charges against him .< ref name = Iipbw >

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said, " These kinds of games teach kids to do the very things that in real life, we put people in jail for.

When contacted, D ' Amico said that Blagojevich had asked him if he feared losing his job with the city of Chicago's water department, at which point D ' Amico said that he had been in a union for 26 years and could not be fired easily, and instead he opposed the capital bill because Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley opposed it.

On December 14, 2008, when David Gregory asked Quinn on NBC's Meet The Press about his relationship with Blagojevich, he said, " Well, he's a bit isolated.

Rod Blagojevich referred to the story: " Let me simply say, I feel like the old Alan Sillitoe short story ' The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner ' ... and that's what this is, by the way, a long-distance run.

Blagojevich, often referred to by the nickname " Blago " in print and other media, was the first Democrat to be elected Governor of Illinois since Daniel Walker in 1972.

Kerner was the first of four 20th – 21st-century Illinois governors to be convicted on federal criminal charges, the others being Daniel Walker, George Ryan, and Rod Blagojevich.

Many observers expected the race to be close, especially considering the polling, which has shown Governor Blagojevich had a high disapproval rating.

Incumbent Rod Blagojevich proven to be an incredible fundraiser, and governed a relatively strong blue state.

He has named members of the Illinois House of Representatives to a special committee charged with investigating whether Governor Blagojevich engaged in conduct, including the Rod Blagojevich corruption charges, that should be subject to possible impeachment charges the House can bring.

Unlike Blagojevich, who continued to live in his Ravenswood, Chicago home while commuting via state plane to Springfield and preferred to execute his gubernatorial duties from within his home and, less commonly, the Governor's office in Chicago's Thompson Center, Quinn moved into the Illinois Executive Mansion in Springfield, saying it would be an honor to live " in the people's house ".

The charges claimed that Blagojevich had pressured Zell to fire particular Tribune editorial staffers, known to be harshly critical of the governor, in exchange for tax breaks on the sale of Wrigley Field.

After the election of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2002, she was appointed to be a member of his transition team.