Chicago (CNN) -- Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrived at a Colorado federal prison Thursday to begin serving a 14-year sentence on a corruption conviction, a spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons said. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do," he told a crowd of sign-wielding supporters outside his Chicago home Wednesday before reporting to prison. "But this is the law and we follow the law." He was convicted of corruption in June 2011 after a jury returned 17 guilty verdicts against him. Among other allegations, he was accused of trying to profit as he considered whom to appoint to take Barack Obama's open Senate seat.
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NEW: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrives at a federal prison
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He says goodbye to supporters in Chicago
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On Thursday, he begins serving a 14-year sentence on a corruption conviction
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The federal prison is southwest of Denver
But he draws strength from the incredible support he continues to receive from the people of @placeholder and beyond."