Illinois gov. arrested, accused of selling Senate seat

Read more about Blagojevich’s arrest

Illinois governor’s arrest stuns politicos

Lawmakers hope to set Senate seat vote

? Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested Tuesday for what U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called a “political corruption crime spree” that allegedly included attempts to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Blagojevich and Harris were named in a federal criminal complaint that alleged a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy aimed at providing financial benefits to the governor, his political fund and to his wife, Patricia Blagojevich.

Blagojevich was taken into federal custody by FBI agents at his North Side home Tuesday morning — one day shy of his 52nd birthday.

The arrests dealt a tumultuous blow to Illinois government, at once raising questions about the leadership of the state and the fate of the open Senate seat — which the governor alone has the power to fill under the state constitution.

The allegations against Blagojevich provide a sharp contrast to a Democratic governor who campaigned for office promising reforms in the wake of disgraced, scandal-tainted Republican chief executive George Ryan. The complaint against Blagojevich comes little more than two years after Ryan was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison on federal corruption charges.