美国联邦调查人员指控伊利诺伊州长试图通过利用当选总统奥巴马空出来的参议员席位来谋求个人私利。调查人员星期二逮捕了布拉戈耶维奇和他的办公室主任。检察官说，他们三年前就开始对这位民主党州长的腐败问题进行调查。
美国司法部发表的一份声明说，布拉戈耶维奇最近设法在为他和他妻子得到高报酬的工作、现金和竞选捐款，以此来交换有关参议院的任命。
当选总统奥巴马在赢得美国总统选举胜利之后辞去了参议员的职务。在伊利诺伊州，州长负责指定奥巴马的继任者。
司法部还指控布拉戈耶维奇索贿并威胁要收回州政府对一家报纸的救援，除非报社开除那些撰写批评州长文章的人。
U.S. federal investigators have charged the governor of (the central state of) Illinois with trying to sell for personal gain the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Investigators arrested Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff (John Harris) today (Tuesday). Prosecutors say they started investigating the Democratic Party governor for corruption three years ago.
A statement from the U.S. Department of Justice says Blagojevich recently tried to get high-paying jobs, money or campaign contributions for himself or his wife in exchange for the appointment to the Senate.
President-elect Obama resigned from his Senate seat following his victory in the U.S. presidential election. In Illinois, the governor is responsible for naming a successor.
The Justice Department also accuses Blagojevich of soliciting bribes and threatening to withhold state aid to a newspaper company (the Tribune Company) unless writers critical of the governor were fired.