He left his home in Chicago's Ravenswood Manor community to go to an animal shelter to get another dog for his family Friday night. Blagojevich and his family, including their dog Skittles, piled into their SUV and headed to PAWS Chicago. Once there, daughter Amy walked their dog in, followed by the rest of the family and a family friend.
"I'm doing fine. I'll be fine. We're going to be good. We trust in the higher purposes - keep faith in God and I believe it's all going to work out the way it ought to," said Blagojevich.
Daughter Annie showed off the family's new Malti-poo while Amy held Skittles. It was light moment but clearly the family's future was weighing heavily on the parents' minds.
"We kind of like to do a little distraction and enhancing...getting the girls' minds on something fun and positive," said wife Patti Blagojevich.
"These are tough times for our family, and this little puppy and Skittles over here are comforting and something that our little girls can love and cuddle with," said the former governor.
While the Blagojevich family posed for pictures at PAWS, the former governor's legal team said it will take the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, which will happen within a few weeks if not days. One of his lawyers said they have a good case.
"When you're assessing an appeal, you got to start at the very beginning and go to the very end and you think about anything, any legal questions you can raise about the trial and about the sentencing," said Carolyn Gurland, Blagojevich's attorney.
Blagojevich did not talk about his prison time Friday nigh but it's likely he will serve time at a low security facility. Three are in the North Central Region: Sandstone, Minnesota; Englewood, Colorado; and Milan, Michigan. Some experts believe Milan may be the likely location. There is perimeter fencing there along with cell and dorm style sleeping arrangements.
The Blagojevich defense team sent an e-mail to the judge Friday about where they would like the former governor to serve his time. But the lawyers would not discuss that publicly. The Bureau of Prisons will ultimately decide which prison Blagojevich is assigned to.
