Blagojevich impeached by House of Representatives; Senate next
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Governor Rod Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois House of representatives with a vote of 114-1-1 on Friday Jan. 9, 2009. This is the first time in Illinois history that an impeachment process has taken place. State Represen-tative Dan Reitz (D-Steeleville) stated, "Today is the first step in the right direction towards getting state government back on track and restoring trust with the people of Illinois. The governor's continued and deliberate abuse of power, along with his refusal to step down, has made impeachment the necessary and responsible thing to do." A special committee was convened under directive HR 1650 to investigate the charges against Gov. Blagojevich and recommended that the House move forward with the impeachment. This happened mere days after the Dec. 9th arrest date of the Governor on charges of conspiracy and soliciting bribes. Reitz said, "I am pleased we took prompt and diligent action to move forward in removing the governor. It is important that we put this dark cloud behind us so we can focus on solving the pressing issues facing our state..."
Gov. Blagojevich remains adamant about his innocence. He stated, "...I understand the houses actions. I am not surprised by it, but I took actions, with the advice of lawyers and experts, to find ways, creative ways, to use the executive authority of a governor to get real things done for people who rely on us. And in many cases, the things we did for people have literally saved lives. I don't believe those are impeachable offenses." Blagovejevich has been accused of corruption for years, almost beginning the day he took office in 2002. However, the dam gates busted this past December when he was accused of attempting to contrive personal benefits for himself and his family in exchange for an appointment to the recently vacated state senate seat. He is also accused of withholding federal assistance from the Chicago Tribune in exchange for the termination of certain members of the Chicago Tribune editorial staff. These are among many of the misdeeds that are laid out in a 76-page affidavit charging Blagojevich with two criminal misconduct counts.
The impeachment process will now move forward to the Illinois State Senate. State Senator David Luechtefeld (R-Okawville) stated, "The act of impeachment is a very rare governmental process that is not used very often; however, when it is used legislators must be very careful when considering the possibility of forcibly removing an elected official. We have a very serious responsibility before us." Along with the other 58 members of the Illinois State Senate, Luechtefeld must cast his vote to determine the fate of Blagojevich in the trial that will begin next week. 39 positive votes will be needed in order to convict Blagojevich of the charges, and thus remove him from office.
"The Illinois House of Representatives has done the right thing today in voting to impeach Governor Blagojevich," stated U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). "I urge the Governor to summon moral strength to put our state and our nation above any personal consideration and resign immediately."
There are also suspicions of the recent appointment of Roland Burris to the vacant Senate seat. Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White said, "I want to remind everyone that on December 31, 2008, as Secretary of State, I registered the appointment in accordance with state law. That document did not include my signature or the State Seal. As the Illinois Supreme Court ruled today, that act alone fulfilled my legal obligations. I want to be clear that I could not and will not in good conscious sign my name to any appointment made by Governor Rod Blagojevich to fill the Senate vacancy... As I have maintained all along, the ultimate decision to seat or not seat a Senate appointment lies with the U.S. Senate."