BREAKING!! Blagojevic impeached
The Illinois state House has voted to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevic:
In a dramatic display of anger and solidarity over a political scandal that has made Illinois a national laughingstock, lawmakers on Friday voted 114-1 to impeach disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
It's the first time in the state's history that the Illinois House has voted to impeach its governor The impeachment proceedings will now move to the Illinois Senate for trial. It is unclear when that will begin. The one lawmaker voting against impeachment was Rep. Milton Patterson, a Chicago Demorcrat who represents the South Side. Rep Elga Jefferies, also a Chicago Democrat, voted present.
Before the vote, lawmakers lined up to denouced the governor and expressed anger and embarrassment over his alleged behavior, that includes a criminal complaint that he attempted to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.
"Due to his conduct, the governor has failed to uphold the oath of office," Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), chair of the House panel that held impeachment hearings, said. "He is no longer capable of defending our liberties. He should be impeached."
"The plague that has been brought upon us by Rod Blagojevich will be lifted," said Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock). "We will no longer tolerate the culture of corruption that has seized our government. Our duty is to clean up the mess and stop the freak show that has become our government."
"Our institiution has suffered severe damage," said Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago). "But, our institution will rise from the ashes.
"During the House debate, Blagojevich left his house in Chicago to go for a run. He told waiting reporters: "I will see you at 2." A spokesman for the governor said he planned to issue a statement at that time.
On Thursday, the House impeachment investigation committee voted 21-0 to send the issue to the full House for a vote. The panel released a scathing report, outlining the governor's alleged misdeeds.
The 69-page draft report outlines all the criminal charges against Blagojevich, including his alleged plan to sell the U.S. Senate, to withhold state assistance for the sale of Wrigley Field if Chicago Tribune editorial writers were not fired, and to shake down Children's Memorial Hospital.
Now this moves to the state senate to see if he's convicted. (That is how it works -- the house determines guilt, i.e., impeachment, and the senate convicts and removes.) The question remains as to whether or not the senate will convict him. We could be watching a redux of the Clinton impeachment where the president was impeached but not removed. Emil Jones is the Illinois senate president, and he is a very close associate of not only Governor Blagojevic, but also Mayor Daley. And everyone knows nothing goes down in Illinois without Daley's fingerprints all over it.
Do we think he'll be removed? With the way the Democrat party in Illinois has been acting towards him, we wouldn't be surprised if they did remove him. We'd like to see him stick around so he can continue to be a thorn in the party's side until 2010 when his current term ends. Besides, it's sort of amusing to see one of Obama's close associates sticking it to the machine in DC.
Publius II
In a dramatic display of anger and solidarity over a political scandal that has made Illinois a national laughingstock, lawmakers on Friday voted 114-1 to impeach disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
It's the first time in the state's history that the Illinois House has voted to impeach its governor The impeachment proceedings will now move to the Illinois Senate for trial. It is unclear when that will begin. The one lawmaker voting against impeachment was Rep. Milton Patterson, a Chicago Demorcrat who represents the South Side. Rep Elga Jefferies, also a Chicago Democrat, voted present.
Before the vote, lawmakers lined up to denouced the governor and expressed anger and embarrassment over his alleged behavior, that includes a criminal complaint that he attempted to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.
"Due to his conduct, the governor has failed to uphold the oath of office," Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), chair of the House panel that held impeachment hearings, said. "He is no longer capable of defending our liberties. He should be impeached."
"The plague that has been brought upon us by Rod Blagojevich will be lifted," said Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock). "We will no longer tolerate the culture of corruption that has seized our government. Our duty is to clean up the mess and stop the freak show that has become our government."
"Our institiution has suffered severe damage," said Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago). "But, our institution will rise from the ashes.
"During the House debate, Blagojevich left his house in Chicago to go for a run. He told waiting reporters: "I will see you at 2." A spokesman for the governor said he planned to issue a statement at that time.
On Thursday, the House impeachment investigation committee voted 21-0 to send the issue to the full House for a vote. The panel released a scathing report, outlining the governor's alleged misdeeds.
The 69-page draft report outlines all the criminal charges against Blagojevich, including his alleged plan to sell the U.S. Senate, to withhold state assistance for the sale of Wrigley Field if Chicago Tribune editorial writers were not fired, and to shake down Children's Memorial Hospital.
Now this moves to the state senate to see if he's convicted. (That is how it works -- the house determines guilt, i.e., impeachment, and the senate convicts and removes.) The question remains as to whether or not the senate will convict him. We could be watching a redux of the Clinton impeachment where the president was impeached but not removed. Emil Jones is the Illinois senate president, and he is a very close associate of not only Governor Blagojevic, but also Mayor Daley. And everyone knows nothing goes down in Illinois without Daley's fingerprints all over it.
Do we think he'll be removed? With the way the Democrat party in Illinois has been acting towards him, we wouldn't be surprised if they did remove him. We'd like to see him stick around so he can continue to be a thorn in the party's side until 2010 when his current term ends. Besides, it's sort of amusing to see one of Obama's close associates sticking it to the machine in DC.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 10:01 AM
1 Comments:
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