LINCOLN SQUARE — It's been five years since federal corruption charges were dropped against him, but Rob Blagojevich has neither forgiven nor forgotten that "the government screwed with my life for two years."
The lesser known, elder of the two Blagojeviches, Rob was indicted in 2009 alongside his brother Rod, then governor of Illinois. He had parachuted into Rod's re-election campaign at the end of 2008, only to find himself accused of attempting to sell President Barack Obama's former Senate seat.
Referring to himself as "collateral damage" in a case focused largely on Rod, Rob ultimately escaped conviction. Fewer than 10 percent of defendants prosecuted by the Department of Justice manage this feat, which forms the basis of Blagojevich's memoir, "Fundraiser A."
Robert Blagojevich meets with attendees following a public forum to discuss his book, "Fundraiser A," held at Amundsen High School. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
"They at least owe me an apology, and then they should make restitution for using me in their chicken game," he said.
In Chicago to promote the book, Blagojevich, who lives in Nashville with his wife Julie, fielded questions Tuesday night at a forum hosted by Amundsen High School.
Patty Wetli discusses Rob and Rod Blagojevich's evolving relationship:
The conversation ranged from his relationship with Rod — once close, now estranged — to how a person returns to normalcy after such a life-altering event.
Once the charges were dropped — "Aug. 26 is my independence day" — it took a good year and a half for him and his wife to feel like they were back among the living, he said.
What remains is a sense of cynicism and a loss of faith in the court system.
"I thought it was about the law, I thought it was about the evidence, I thought it was about justice," he said. Instead, "the government has every advantage."
The book includes a recorded exchange between Rob and a potential campaign donor, entered into the trial transcripts in July 2010. The two are discussing overtures from Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.'s camp regarding the Senate seat.
RB: Money is not going to be a factor.
Donor: Absolutely. I know.
RB: Let me make that clear.
Julie Blagojevich has gone through the 400 hours of wiretap transcripts and found more than 50 instances where Rod says "he'll do the right thing" in regards to the Senate seat, and yet those tapes weren't allowed into evidence, Rob said.
"The judge clearly didn't like Rod, [Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick] Fitzgerald didn't like Rod," the elder Blago brother said. "They showed him no quarter. I don't think Rod got a fair trial."
Yes, his brother is a "big personality," and no, he didn't do a good job of filtering the people around him, Rob said.
But selling the Senate seat? Not that he saw.
"If he's guilty of anything," Rob said, "he's guilty of 'stupid talk.'"
Rod Blagojevich is serving a 14-year sentence in federal prison.
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