Former Governor of Illinois Blagojevich makes a statement to reporters outside his Chicago home Thomson Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s appeal of convictions for attempted extortion from campaign contributors, wire fraud and other crimes.

The court left in place a July 2015 ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the bulk of the convictions. Blagojevich is serving a 14-year sentence.

Blagojevich, a Democrat, was arrested in 2008 while still governor. He was impeached by the state's General Assembly in 2009, becoming the first Illinois governor to be removed from office.

The 18 convictions, five of which were thrown out by the appeals court, came in two jury trials. Blagojevich began serving his federal prison sentence in 2012.

At the heart of the convictions were Blagojevich's attempts in 2008 to make money out of his power to appoint a replacement in the U.S. Senate for Barack Obama, who had been elected president after representing Illinois as a senator.

The case is Blagojevich v. United States, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 15-664.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)