Ex-Illinois governor Blagojevich, granted clemency by Trump, sues for right to seek elected office again

Former Illinois governor and felon Rod R. Blagojevich (D) on Monday sued the state, demanding that his right to run for state and local elected office — which was yanked by the Illinois legislature in 2009 — be restored.

“I’m back from the dead. And it’s good to be alive again,” Blagojevich, who served eight years in prison before his 14-year sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump in 2020, told reporters outside a Chicago federal courthouse. “It’s about the people’s right to choose their own leaders.”