The House impeached Blagojevich following his December 2008 pre-dawn arrest by FBI agents on corruption charges that included trying to trade for personal benefit the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he was elected to his first term as president. The Illinois Senate then tossed Blagojevich from office in January 2009. The former governor was convicted in federal court of wide-ranging corruption and began a 14-year sentence in prison last year.