Rod Blagojevich (born December 10, 1956) is an American former politician who served as the 40thGovernor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago. He was elected governor in 2002, the first Democrat to win the office since Daniel Walker's victory 30 years earlier.

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. He struggled to pass legislation and budgets and had historically low approval ratings within Illinois; at one time the Rasmussen Reports ranked him "America's Least Popular Governor" even before the news of his corruption investigation broke.

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. The first time such an action has been taken against a governor of Illinois, making him the second state official in Illinois history to be impeached. The Illinois State Senate unanimously found him guilty of the charges of impeachment, and he was removed from office on January 29, 2009. In a separate and also unanimous vote,