by Progress Illinois on January 29, 2009 - 4:55pm
It's official. By a unanimous vote, the Illinois Senate just removed impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office. Pat Quinn automatically took over as governor at the time of the vote and will be formally sworn shortly.
UPDATE: The Senate also voted unanimously to bar Blagojevich from ever holding public office in Illinois again.
UPDATE II: We'll be posting reactions from public officials and organizations below:
by Progress Illinois on January 29, 2009 - 12:03pm
Gov. Blagojevich just concluded his hour-long statement before the Senate impeachment trial. We'll have some video soon. In the meantime, the clip below includes the last few minutes of House impeachment prosecutor David Ellis' closing argument. He'll be issuing a rebuttal to Blagojevich at 1 p.m.
UPDATE: Here are the final minutes of the governor's closing statement. He caught our attention at one point with this line: "I want to apologize for what happened." However, he quickly added: "But I can't, because I've done nothing wrong." Watch it:
You gotta love this argument, repeated endlessly during his media blitz: "If it can happen to a governor, it can happen to any citizen." That's right: we too could all be impeached and removed from office one day.
by Progress Illinois on January 28, 2009 - 3:16pm
After days and days of talking only to the media, Gov. Rod Blagojevich has finally decided to address the lawmakers who are inching closer to removing him from office.
During the trial proceedings just now, State Senate President John Cullerton dropped a bombshell: the governor has requested to appear before the chamber tomorrow. Blagojevich will act as his own attorney and deliver his closing argument. (Apparently, those weren't his last words from the lectern, after all.)
Blagojevich will have an hour-and-a-half to make his case. Then House prosecutor David Ellis will issue a 30-minute rebuttal period before members of the Senate head into deliberation to decide whether they’ll convict the governor.
Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno is urging Cullerton, on behalf of her caucus, to grant Blagojevich’s request for an appearance. Cullerton indicated that his caucus is also willing to hear the governor out.
The trial will resume at 10 a.m. tomorrow. First up: the prosecution’s closing argument, followed by Blagojevich's presentation at 11 a.m.
by Progress Illinois on January 27, 2009 - 10:31am
The second day of the Illinois Senate's impeachment trial of Gov. Blagojevich has just begun. FBI agent Daniel Cain has explained how the agency managed to record the conversations included in the criminal complaint against the governor and is now confirming that the quotes included in the affidavit are "true and accurate."
Today's main act, however, will be the four edited recordings that impeachment prosecutor David Ellis will play at some point. These taped conversations apparently show the governor trying to obtain a campaign donation in return for signing a piece of legislation benefiting the horseracing industry.
You can watch the impeachment proceedings on CNN's live feed, or listen live via WBEZ or WUIS. Meanwhile, Steve Rhodes is live-blogging over at NBC 5.
Blagojevich is scheduled to appear on numerous additional television shows today, including CBS' Early Show, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, CNN's No Bias No Bull, and Fox News' On The Record. (What, no Shepard Smith?) Meanwhile, the governor has apparently convinced one person of his innoncence: Geraldo Rivera. Not sure how much good that's gonna do him.
by Angela Caputo on January 26, 2009 - 12:21pm
Just moments ago, the Illinois Senate made history as members convened the impeachment trial of a sitting governor for the first time.
Considering that Blagojevich has already rested his case, today’s proceedings (PDF) will likely move swiftly. The prosecution, led by House Speaker Michael Madigan’s legal counsel, David Ellis, will have free-rein to begin calling a list of 13 witnesses to the stand.
Beginning this afternoon, the Senate will have six days to wrap up the trial, but the proceedings are expected to end no later than Friday. It will take a two-thirds majority vote, or 40 of 59 state Senators, to seal a conviction, which would result in Blagojevich’s immediate removal.
For play-by-play coverage, you can watch CBS 2's video stream or follow the Tribune's live-blog on Clout Street. WUIS 91.9 will also broadcast audio of the proceedings.
For the back story and a look ahead, check out these impeachment primers.
by Josh Kalven on January 09, 2009 - 4:02pm
If you missed Gov. Blagojevich's bizarre press conference in response to the impeachment vote, you can watch it in full here (complete with a squealing baby, a wheelchair, and Lord Alfred Tennyson) or read the transcript.
Shortly after the governor concluded his remarks, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn gave his response to the day's events, again urging Blagojevich to resign. Watch it:
Quinn will be behind the governor's desk in a matter of weeks. That moment couldn't come soon enough.
by Josh Kalven on January 09, 2009 - 10:47am
Moments, ago the Illinois House voted 114-1 to impeach Gov. Blagojevich. The lone no vote came from Rep. Milt Patterson (D-Chicago). Also of note, Rep. Elga Jefferies (D-Chicago) voted "present."
Here's video of Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie's closing statement followed by the roll call:
The Tribune reports on what's next:
Next week, when the Senate convenes, it will begin the process of setting up a trial of the governor in which each of the 59 state senators act as judge and jurors.
A total of 40 senators are needed to convict Blagojevich, which would remove the governor from office and make Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn the state's new chief executive. A trial is expected to take at least three weeks.
Blagojevich is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2 p.m.
by Progress Illinois on January 09, 2009 - 9:34am
The full Illinois House is currently debating the impeachment resolution. If you're interested in watching online, CNN has a live feed here and WUIS has live audio. We'll have more on the proceedings later today.
by Josh Kalven on January 08, 2009 - 7:57pm
While Roland Burris' testimony before the House impeachment commitee today was largely uneventful, there were a few questionable moments. The first came early on when Burris asserted that he had not read the criminal complaint filed against Gov. Blagojevich. That Burris -- a former state attorney general -- would accept an appointment from the governor without acquainting himself with the detailed allegations against him is a bit dumbfounding.
The second speed bump also surfaced early in the testimony. In response to a question from GOP Rep. Jim Durkin, Burris disclosed that he'd told Lon Monk ("Lobbyist 1" in the Blagojevich complaint) that he was interested in the Senate seat while talking to Monk about potential state business last summer.
Here's video of both moments, via CLTV:
Archpundit noted how none of the committee members seemed to think the Monk admission "was strange." Meanwhile, the Huffington Post's Sam Stein and Ryan Grim led with this in their article on the testimony:
by Josh Kalven on January 08, 2009 - 5:54pm
Following Burris' testimony this afternoon (more on that later), the 21 members of the House special investigative committee recommended that Gov. Blagojevich be impeached. From the Tribune:
"This is a very sad day in the state of Illinois," said Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, the Chicago Democrat who chaired the impeachment panel, calling Blagojevich "an individual who is not fit to be the governor of the state of Illinois."
Immediately after adjourning the committee, Currie could be heard letting out a relieved: "Phew!"
The House will likely vote on the matter tomorrow, sending it to the Senate for a trial.
