Prosecutors have formally asked the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to not accept former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's appeal of his corruption convictions.

The prosecutors' 169-page response to the appeal was filed Tuesday evening.

Lawyers for Blagojevich filed an appeal in July asking for the disgraced politician's convictions to be thrown out or for his 14-year sentence to be reduced. Blagojevich was sentenced to prison in 2011 for his conviction on 18 counts of corruption charges, including selling the U.S. Senate seat of President Barack Obama. The former governor is serving his 14-year sentence in a Colorado prison.

Now that the prosecutors' response has been filed, dates for oral arguments on the appeal could be set soon. The appeals court is expected to make a decision on the issue in the next several months.