Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich impeached

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached by state lawmakers in Springfield on Friday, setting the stage for a trial in the state Senate, where the governor vowed he will prove his righteousness.

"I am confident that at the end of the day I will be properly exonerated," Blagojevich, 52, said in Chicago.

The 114-1 vote in the Illinois House came after deliberating less than 90 minutes and exactly a month after Blagojevich's arrest on charges that included trying to sell President-elect Obama's vacant Senate seat. No other Illinois governor has been impeached.

A 21-member bipartisan House investigative committee Thursday unanimously recommended impeachment, citing an abuse of power in the ordinary work of government.

In the Senate, where the trial is expected to begin Jan. 26, lawmakers will face the task of separating the political theatrics of the governor's problems from the legal accusations against him, which have yet to be proved in court or brought in a formal indictment.

It is unclear whether the case against Blagojevich, a two-term Democrat, will be grounds enough for senators to convict him. The state Constitution does not define a standard for what is an impeachable offense. For the governor to be removed from office, a two-thirds majority of the Senate — 40 of the 59 members — must vote to convict him.

"This is an extraordinary step to take when you're doing something like impeachment, which is in effect reversing the will of the voters in the last election," said State Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat. "You want to set the bar high."

During the House debate, lawmakers complained that Blagojevich had made a laughingstock of the state.

"It's our duty to clean up the mess and stop the freak show that's become Illinois government," said Democratic Rep. Jack Franks.

No one — not even State Rep. Milton Patterson, who voted against impeachment, saying he needed more information — defended Blagojevich.

The governor was denounced on various fronts, including for his arrest in December on the federal corruption charges.

"This governor has breached the public trust," said State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, a Democrat who was chairwoman of the impeachment committee.

Several hours after the vote, Blagojevich denounced the Legislature, quoted inspirational poetry and recited a litany of accomplishments at a news conference.

He said the impeachment was a "foregone conclusion," and suggested lawmakers were less concerned with the criminal allegations against him than with his policies, which, as he described them, were driven by the "Golden Rule" of helping children get health care, providing cheaper medicines from Canada to those in need and pressing for property-tax relief.

Impeachments of governors are rare; the last governor to be impeached was Evan Mecham of Arizona, in 1988.

In the meantime, Blagojevich's pick to replace Obama in the Senate, Roland Burris, 71, was moving closer — maybe — to taking the seat he has been denied since Tuesday, when new members were sworn into Congress.

Blagojevich appointed Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, over the protests of those who said any appointment of his would carry a taint of corruption.

On Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Burris' paperwork was valid and that Illinois' secretary of state did not have to sign his appointment.

Timothy Wright, Burris' attorney, said later that the secretary of state had signed a document certifying the appointment, a claim disputed by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's legal adviser. Nathan Maddox said the letter "is not the official Senate appointment document."

The Senate's second-ranking Democrat, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, said the Senate would not accept Burris without the official signature and therefore efforts to seat Burris should stop "until that impeachment trial in the Illinois Senate is concluded."

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.