Yesterday, Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero freaked everyone out with this comment about the governor's power to appoint the next U.S. Senator from Illinois: "It is still his responsibility until otherwise the powers are taken from him or not. ... The powers remain with him to appoint a senator."  But at his press conference today, Blagojevich attorney Ed Genson (right) announced that the government will not use this power.  From the Wall Street Journal (via Gaper's Block):

The attorney, Ed Genson, was asked at a news conference after an impeachment hearing in Springfield if Mr. Blagojevich was planning to appoint anyone against the wishes of Democrats across the state and country including Mr. Obama.

"No," Mr. Genson replied. "(U.S. Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid said that they're not going to accept anybody he picks. Why would he do that?"

That's that, I suppose (though you have to wonder if Genson was authorized to say this).  By ruling out the possibility of a last-ditch appointment, Genson theoretically took the pressure off Illinois Democrats to pass legislation stripping the governor's power.  They'll likely continue to focus on impeachment and, assuming they're successful, allow Pat Quinn to makef the appointment once he takes over as acting governor.  Meanwhile, the special election idea languishes while the Republican uproar builds.

By the way, for those interested in getting a taste of the proceedings in Springfield, CLTV is doing us all a great service by posting unedited video of the impeachment committee hearings every day.  Here are links to the three videos they've posted so far:

Day One (15:06)
Day Two, Pt. One (24:51)
Day Two, Pt. Two (6:23)

UPDATE (7:08 PM): Speaking of Genson, the Sun-Times is reporting that the Feds have notified Blagojevich that they plan to freeze his campaign fund.  That raises the question: how is Genson (not to mention Winston & Strawn) going to get paid?