By Brent Rowland

CHICAGO – Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was disbarred Monday when the Illinois Supreme Court confirmed a March decision by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.

Blagojevich, who served as governor from 2003 to 2009, was released from prison in February after President Donald Trump commuted Blagojevich’s 14-year prison sentence for corruption.

The former governor’s law license was suspended in 2008 when he was arrested on corruption charges.

Blagojevich, a Chicago Democrat, was sentenced in 2011 to 14 years in prison after he was convicted of corruption tied to his attempt to sell then newly-elected President Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat. He entered prison in March 2012.

In 2018, Illinois’ Republican congressmen wrote a letter to Trump opposing any kind of mercy for Blagojevich. The letter reminded the president of the evidence against Blagojevich, including his shakedown of Children’s Memorial Hospital for a $50,000 campaign contribution and the delay in signing a new law for the state’s horse tracks until he had secured a $10,000 contribution.

Brett Rowland has worked as a reporter in newsrooms in Illinois and Wisconsin. He most recently served as news editor of the Northwest Herald in Crystal Lake, Illinois. He previously held the same position at the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb.