Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich may become reality-television star

Undeterred by a 19-count federal indictment, his impeachment as governor of Illinois and any measure of common sense, Rod Blagojevich wants to take up an offer by NBC to appear on I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, a new reality series.

We say “wants to” because Blagojevich first has to convince a judge to lift his travel restrictions, since the series will largely be filmed in Costa Rica this summer, according to the Chicago Tribune. The new show, based on a British series, will air live and follow 10 celebrities marooned, Survivor-style, with a series of challenges laid out for them. The objective, the network said, is for the stars to raise money for charity.

If the move sounds extraordinary, Blagojevich has proven since his arrest on corruption and other charges last December that he occupies a world we do not. He held grand press conferences with babies on stage to declare his innocence, cavalierly compared his critics to a “lynch mob” and, on his last day in office, actually told a New York Times reporter that he “should have been more selfish, not selfless.” When he was finally indicted earlier this month, he and his family were in Florida, near Disney World.

Related links:
ChicagoTribune.com: A Blagojevich investigation timeline
iTV.com: Official site for the original I'm a Celebrity
YouTube: Rod Blagojevich on David Letterman

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