Blagojevich will be prisoner number 40892424, the last three digits signify he is from the Northern District of Illinois. He will be given menial tasks and several tours throughout the day at Englewood prison, which is located in an unincorporated area 15 miles southwest of Denver. Blagojevich will serve his sentence in the low security prison where he could share a cell with up to three other inmates.

His defense team is filing an appeal, saying Blagojevich didn't intend to commit the crimes for which he is convicted. Attorneys also say the phone recordings that the defense wanted to be played in court were improperly blocked by the judge.

"I am proud as I leave and enter the next part of what is a dark, hard journey that I can take with me the sense of accomplishment and the real belief that the things that I did as governor and the things I did as congressman actually helped real ordinary people," Blagojevich said Wednesday during a final public goodbye. His wife Patti and youngest daughter stood by him as a crowd of well-wishers expressed their support.

Blagojevich was convicted on corruption charges last June.

The first two hours will be among his toughest, because he will be strip searched, fingerprinted and photographed. He will get a bed roll, a tiny hygiene kit and he walk his way into the general population. He may share a cell with up to three inmates. He will go through a two- to three-week orientation period.

New arrivals usually get a top bunk with an old mattress. They usually clean toilets as one of their first jobs.

They are reminded if they start to wax poetic about who they used to be, they will be told to shut up because no one cares. Respect is a big deal.

"When you walk in front of someone say excuse me because, like I said, he may wind up with a fist in his face," said Larry Levine, Wall Street prison consultant.

More than 40 percent of the inmates Blagojevich will come to know here are doing time for drug offenses. The average length of their sentence is 10 years.

Violent incidents here are fairly low in number, but making friends and watching your back is never easy behind the fence.

"I'll bet if you check back in a month he'll be the most popular inmate," said Sam Adam Jr., who defended Blagojevich during his first trial.

Adam said his good friend is devastated, but holding up, and points out what many have long known - that Blagojevich has an extraordinary ability to remember names and faces. He knows how to win a crowd, perhaps even the crowd behind the fence.

"He has a wonderful personality," Adam said. "He'll charm the other inmates. He'll end up being the governor of thecorrectional facility out there."

He was given a 14-year prison sentence and will serve it in a federal prison in Littleton, Colo. He must serve at least 85 percent, or 11.9 years, of the full sentence.

Blagojevich will address the media Wednesday afternoon at a time yet to be determined in the 2900-block of West Sunnyside Ave. in Chicago.

"Gov. Blagojevich has always stood up and stood tall. He hasn't hid. And he has truly enjoyed being out in public," said Blagojevich spokesman Glenn Selig. "He never considered 'sneaking' out of Chicago and miss an opportunity to say goodbye. It's difficult to put into words the challenges he and his family now face."

More details will be released as plans are finalized.

Last year, Rod Blagojevich was convicted on 18 corruption charges and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.

Patti Blagojevich told O'Donnell -- despite the conviction -- she remains steadfast in her believe that the former governor is innocent.

"Rosie, there's nothing they could do or show you that would make you think otherwise," she said. "I was there, and I heard all the conversations, and I know his heart. So much of this case is about intent, and I know his intent. I know his heart. They can say whatever they want. He took the trust that the people put in him and always wanted to live up to that trust."

Rosie O'Donnell's interview with Patti Blagojevich is scheduled to air Wednesday night on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

"It's got a pretty good reputation within the prison community of being safe and clean, and at least you're somewhere in a pretty nice area. I mean you're in the foothills of the Rockies," Scott Fawell said. Fawell, who served as an aide to ex-Gov. George Ryan, spent five years in federal prison after being convicted of racketeering and mail fraud in 2002.

Blagojevich had no comment as he left his Ravenswood home to take his daughter to school Wednesday morning. One month from today he will report to Englewood, the facility requested by Blagojevich and recommended by Judge James Zagel.

Englewood isn't far from Denver, and that airport will make it easier for the Blagojevich's wife, Patti, and two daughters to visit. The Blagojevich family is expected to live in Chicago.

After his conviction, Fawell was sent to prison in South Dakota.

"When I was in Yankton, South Dakota, people had to fly to Omaha, drive two and a half hours, you know. Yeah, it's like planes, trains and automobiles. It is not easy to get to," Fawell said.

The Colorado facility is where Fawell's co-defendant Larry Warner served his sentence. Englewood also houses former Enron executive Jeffry Skilling. The prison is known for white collar criminals and not being as crowded as other federal prisons.

"Without being overcrowded, you have less chance of violence in the prison because violence happens because you're crowding people into rooms or cells that are made for two people and suddenly they have four," Fawell said.

Blagojevich will spend his first few years in a cell with only a small window. However, after he's down to 10 years or less, Blagojevichwill get to spend more time outdoor at a prison camp.

The former governor will try to shave a year off of his sentence by entering a rehab facility.