Senate Democratic leaders today cleared the way for Roland Burris to be seated as a senator from Illinois, after more than a weeklong spectacle surrounding the state’s corruption scandal and the questioning of Mr. Burris’s credentials.
After Mr. Burris’s lawyers hand-carried an additional document bearing a state seal, a statement attesting to the appointment and a mass-produced signature of the secretary of State, Jesse White, along with the governor’s original papers, Senate leaders Harry Reid and Dick Durbin bestowed the senator-designate title on him in a joint release:
The Secretary of the Senate has determined that the new credentials presented today on behalf of Mr. Burris now satisfy Senate Rules and validate his appointment to the vacant Illinois Senate seat. In addition, as we requested, Mr. Burris has provided sworn testimony before the Illinois House Committee on Impeachment regarding the circumstances of his appointment.
“We have spoken to Mr. Burris to let him know that he is now the Senator-designate from Illinois and as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a Senator-elect.
“Accordingly, barring objections from Senate Republicans, we expect Senator-designee Burris to be sworn in and formally seated later this week. We are working with him and the office of the Vice President to determine the date and time of the swearing-in.
“As we had outlined to Mr. Burris, a path needed to be followed that respects the rules of the Senate. We committed to Mr. Burris that once those requirements were satisfied, we would be able to proceed. We are pleased that everything is now in order, we congratulate Senator-designee Burris on his appointment and we look forward to working with him in the 111th Congress.”
* What is your biggest fear and your biggest hope about a likely Pat Quinn governorship? Explain fully, and please answer both parts of this question. Thanks.
* You had to figure this was gonna happen sooner or later. Turns out, it’s sooner…
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Sunday it was likely that former Illinois Atty. Gen. Roland Burris would be seated as the state’s newest senator this week after a legal review of new paperwork regarding the Senate appointment.
The review Monday by Senate legal counsel marks the latest twist in the on-again, off-again seating of Burris, who was appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich three weeks after the now-impeached Illinois governor was arrested on federal corruption charges that include allegations he attempted to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. While it appeared the Senate was closer Sunday to seating Burris, there are potential hitches.
Senate Democrats spent about 30 minutes discussing Burris’ situation in a closed-door meeting Sunday that resulted in Obama’s chief economic adviser, Larry Summers, cooling his heels in a Senate hallway waiting to discuss the president-elect’s economic recovery package.
“This thing changes by the day,” Durbin said, explaining why he and his colleagues spent such a long time discussing the matter.
* This sort of thing won’t help Burris’ chances in 2010…
Just days after Gov. Rod Blagojevich accepted his party’s nod for re-election in 2006, a letter arrived at state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka’s office seeking thousands of pages of documents Blagojevich could use as ammunition against her in their upcoming campaign.
The letter was signed by Roland Burris.
It was one of several requests Burris made to the treasurer’s office in 2006, a campaign practice known as opposition research in which candidates use public documents to question their opponents’ records.
* Did you happen to catch SNL? I didn’t, either, but here’s the Burris clip…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich was pure defiance last week after the House voted 114 to 1 to impeach him.
Blagojevich said he expected the impeachment because the House has been fighting him tooth and nail ever since he was re-elected in 2006. A statement his office released a day earlier predicted smoother sailing in the Senate.
“It was a foregone conclusion,” the governor said about the impeachment.
“When the case moves to the Senate, an actual judge will preside over the hearings, and the governor believes the outcome will be much different,” his office’s official statement read.
The outcome of last week’s impeachment vote was, indeed, a “foregone conclusion.” But not because the proceedings were based on a purely political war, as the governor claimed, but because of the depth and breadth of the governor’s own official malfeasance. This has been coming for a very long time, and the governor knows it. I’m not the only one who warned him what could happen if he didn’t straighten out his act.
And the man is delusional if he truly believes the outcome will be any different in the Senate. There will be an “actual judge” presiding during his trial, and he will have a few more rights than he did during the impeachment process. But if the governor really thinks he can find the 20 senators he’ll need to block his removal from office next month, then he should be locked in a rubber room.
Voting to spare Blagojevich from the fate he so richly deserves would be an inexcusable, unforgivable mega-sin with consequences that nobody ever could escape.
Blagojevich’s statements essentially were reruns of everything we’ve heard from him for the past six years. The House is to blame for all the world’s ills. The Senate will save him. He is an heroic figure who did nothing wrong.
The House was never the real problem. House Speaker Michael Madigan has battled with every governor he’s served with, but he always found a way to cut a deal at the end of the day - until Blagojevich came along. Madigan, in fact, appears awfully darn prescient now.
And governor, I’ve got news for you: Senate President Emil Jones is retiring this week. Your comrade in arms will not be around to save your neck when your Senate trial begins as he has done so many times in the past.
And that presiding judge? The Senate will be able to override all of his decisions. Plus, Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald was a criminal courts judge for decades. He knows a crook when he sees one.
You really have to wonder what the governor is thinking here. Come February when he’s removed from office, all those hoops the U.S. Attorney must navigate when attempting to investigate and indict a sitting governor will disappear. No longer will Patrick Fitzgerald have to check in with Washington, D.C., whenever he wants to make a move against Blagojevich because the governor will be a private citizen by then.
If Blagojevich thinks he’s being manhandled by Fitzgerald now, just wait until Fitz’s restraints are removed.
Also, when elected officials offer to plead guilty and resign their offices, the U.S. attorney has to take that into consideration.
Any leverage Blagojevich might have to reduce his sentence to a length that will allow him to serve at a halfway decent minimum security prison will undoubtedly vanish if he’s removed from office before he cops a plea.
Frankly, conviction is almost as certain as the governor’s removal. Former Gov. George Ryan is serving essentially a life sentence for some dinky little crimes in comparison to this governor’s alleged lawlessness. Plus, the feds didn’t have thousands of surveillance tapes on George like they do with Rod. As Hawk Harrelson would say: “He gone.”
Then there’s Patti Blagojevich, who is likely behind Fitzgerald’s “Door Number Two.” Offering to resign now and throwing himself at the mercy of the system might spare the governor’s wife from imprisonment.
Does Rod Blagojevich really want his much-hated father-in-law Dick Mell to raise his children?
Cut your best deal and resign, governor. Spare the state and your family from this tragicomic circus. Man up and go away.
One of the charges the governor faces involves his stalling $8 million in funding for children’s specialty doctors across the state. The reason for the delay, according to prosecutors: to try to squeeze a $50,000 contribution from Patrick Magoon, chief executive officer of Children’s Memorial Hospital, which led efforts to get that funding.
Now — even in the wake of his Dec. 9 arrest — Blagojevich hasn’t lifted the virtual brick he placed on the $8 million prosecutors say his administration dangled in front of Magoon to get him to give to the governor’s campaign fund. And the anger the governor is facing for that appears to be growing.
Michael Vondra — construction magnate and asphalt kingpin — is working on a new business deal with BP, the gasoline behemoth. And he wanted Gov. Blagojevich to help him out with state environmental regulators.
Vondra and the governor talked about the deal last Oct. 6 in the governor’s North Side campaign office — not knowing federal agents were eavesdropping.
Afterward, Blagojevich decided to hit Vondra up for money — $100,000 to be raised before the state’s new campaign-finance rules kicked in the first of this year.
These allegations are part of the criminal complaint against Blagojevich, but they’ve drawn little attention because federal authorities concealed Vondra’s identity in court records.
Senate planners hope that the trial will begin Jan. 26, and Cullerton pointed to the Clinton trial lasting three weeks as a potential length of Blagojevich’s day in political court. A source familiar with the situation said that might be too ambitious a start date. Blagojevich’s defense team may ask for weeks or months to prepare, and all of the prosecution and defense witnesses could stretch the trial out longer, the source said.
That’s just wrong. Subscribe to find out why.
* Related…
* Some state legislators and healthcare advocates have started pressing scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich to immediately release $8 million in state reimbursements for children’s specialty doctors that he allegedly used to seek a campaign contribution.
* Blago on One of His Favorite Presidents: Richard Nixon
* Gov. Rod Blagojevich can even embarrass Cubs: If a huge Cubs fan holds the highest public office in the state, then there’s a decent chance it’s going to end in spectacularly bad fashion.
None of the five candidates seeking to succeed former Congressman Rahm Emanuel could muster a majority of support at a Democratic slating meeting [Saturday]. That meas the March 3 primary will be an open one with no party endorsed candidate. State Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago) came closest, but could not quite reach the 50 percent (plus one) benchmark.
Ald. Patrick O’Connor (40th), Mayor Daley’s unofficial floor leader, had said as late as Friday night that he had close to enough votes to wrap up the endorsement, and he had pleaded with his fellow committeemen not to “shirk their responsibility” by declaring an “open primary.” That’s what backers of State Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, had sought .
Luckily for O’Connor, they did not grant his wish because when the votes came in, Fritchey got about three times as many as O’Connor, though not enough to hit the 50 percent-plus-1 mark. […]
Fritchey got 61,529 of the 62,883-plus-1 votes it would have taken to be slated. O’Connor got a mere 22,901. Committeemen backing an open primary cast another 41,341 votes. […]
Questions emerged after the slating about whether Mell offered to give Schulter increased say in Fritchey’s state house replacement if he would back Fritchey, whose district is partially in Schulter’s ward. Schulter denied cutting a deal to get another one of his guys a statehouse seat, saying he already has a good state rep, Greg Harris, who represents the other half of hs ward.
State Sen. James DeLeo (D-Chicago) quickly called for the endorsement session, ostensibly to try to winnow a growing field of candidates.
The endorsement session was called when it was because they wanted to do it before the candidate filing period began today. Some wanted to “winnow” the field, but others didn’t.
One thing I will say about (Lt. Gov.) Pat Quinn , from a distance, is, he’s a lousy campaign fundraiser. And that..gives me some sense of respect for him…..former U.S. Atty. Patrick Collins on “Chicago Tonight,” 1-7-09
Area lawmakers said the Illinois House vote to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich will have no effect on the state’s plans to move 150 traffic safety jobs to southern Illinois.
Mayor Daley is spitting mad. Furious over Chicago Sun-Times/NBC5 News reports on a clout-heavy deal to buy site of the venerable Chicago Christian Industrial League, relocate the charity’s homeless shelter and replace it with pricey condos. As a tragic consequence, a century-old mission may now go bankrupt at a time when its services are needed most.
I’d argue that taxpayers should be raining down wrath on City Hall instead, but you be the judge.
None of the five candidates seeking to succeed former Congressman Rahm Emanuel could muster a majority of support at a Democratic slating meeting today. That meas the March 3 primary will be an open one with no party endorsed candidate.
O’Connor, his allies and many others thought he had the slating wrapped up. Oops. I’ll bet he doesn’t even run now.
Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin says a subtle maneuver late yesterday by Roland Burris and his attorneys may be enough to get the former Illinois Attorney General seated in the U.S. Senate.
When the U.S. Senate prevented Burris from entering, they cited the fact that Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White hadn’t signed the appointment papers. He still hasn’t and says he won’t.
And yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court decided White doesn’t need to because Governor Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of Roland Burris to the Senate is valid. In light of that ruling, attorneys for Burris went to the secretary of state’s office and obtained a copy of Blagojevich’s original appointment. They also got a second piece of paper from White, a certificate saying simply that the copy is a true and accurate copy.
That certificate is signed by White. Burris’ attorneys are touting that signature even though it’s not on the right piece of paper. Senator Durbin is the assistant majority leader in the Senate. He says the move by Burris may be enough to satisfy the Senate, though he stresses Senate lawyers will have to review it.
Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
* 3:19 pm - Click here to read the transcript of the governor’s event.
* 3:14 pm - Most of the governor’s media event…
* 3:11 pm - We’re coming a bit late to this, but Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn is doing a press conference right now. Click here to watch.
* 3:01 pm - The governor quoted from Tennyson’s Ulysses today. This stanza immediately preceding the one Blagojevich quoted seems much more appropriate…
‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Blagojevich, the first governor in Illinois history to be impeached, sought to portray himself as a governor fighting to expand health care and the availability of affordable prescription drugs against an Illinois House that stood in the way.
“The House is impeaching me for that? Is that an impeachable offense?” Blagojevich said at a news conference at the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago.
Women, minorities, crying babies and a man in a wheelchair served as the backdrop on stage at a news conferenece rembattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who the Illinois House voted to impeach today 114-1.
Blagojevich continued to show a defiant confidence in his innocence.
He called the House’s decision to impeach him not a surprise. “This is not something that came as a complete surprise to me,” he said, since the state House considered the idea in 2007.
He discussed how he has pushed the House, for “real and meaningful” housing, for cancer screenings and other policy initiatives.
“Is that an impeachable act,” Blagojevich said.
* 2:35 pm - Blagojevich: Not a surprise… foregone conclusion… What the House did today they’ve been talking about doing for the last couple of years… First time was in the summer of 2007.
It happened kind of fast, but then again kind of expected. Dynamic since reelected as governor in 2006. Struggled to… try to get things done for people.
Wanted to do a capital program but: “The House has stood in the way of letting that happen.”
And so from the moment of my reelection I’ve been pushing and prodding the House to expand health care… stood in the way of my expansions.
Wanted tax relief for homeowners of Cook County, they passed a bill to take away tax relief.
The House’s action today and the causes of the impeachment are because I’ve done things to fight for families who are with me here today.
The governor is now going through the impeachment counts to defend himself, starting with the I-SaveRx program, which was first suggested to the governor by Rahm Emanuel.
“The House is impeaching me for that. Is that an impeachable offense?”
Now he’s talking about helping a mammogram patient and his mammogram screening program. “That’s a life-saving program the House would not act on. I found a way to do it by going around the House… Is that an impeachable offense?
Now, it’s AllKids. Another beneficiary is pointed out. “Is that an impeachable offense?”
“Creative ways to use the executive authority of governor” to get things done. “I don’t believe those are impeachable offenses.”
“I’m going to continue to fight every step of the way.”
Quoting more poetry. Left without taking questions, even though he indicated he would earlier.
* 2:21 pm - “Supporters” of the governor have been ushered into the room. He needs a cheering section, apparently.
When Blagojevich ranted, “I will fight until I take my last breath,” those legislators saw the gauntlet once again being thrown directly at them.
The word “impeachment” was first uttered publicly back in the summer of 2007, when the General Assembly and the governor engaged in a superheated, months-long battle. The governor and his henchmen reacted swiftly.
Legislators were threatened with direct retaliation. If they had a mistress, their wives would hear about it. If they had ever asked for an untoward political favor from the governor or his staff, they would be dragged through the mud right along with him. Every rumor they’d ever heard about personal or official corruption would be leaked to the media. It would be total war. […]
Still, nobody will be surprised if Blagojevich attempts retribution. A quick read of the FBI’s surveillance records clearly shows that’s his way.
It could be fun, campers. We’ll see. He loves to blame the House for absolutely everything. Today will obviously be no different. The big question I have is whether he calls out individual members by name. He’s just bizarre enough to do it.
[Cross] defended his decision to work with Blagojevich on projects such as legislation to pay for road and building construction. Cross called such cooperation necessary for the state.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was banking on the Illinois court to resolve the matter after turning away Burris earlier in the week because his paperwork was not signed.
But White says he still won’t sign the document, since the court didn’t force him. And Democratic leaders on Friday maintained that Burris still cannot take President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat without White’s signature.
“Mr. Burris is exactly where he was a week ago,” a senior Democratic aide told FOX News. “He does not have a valid certificate, and we cannot seat him.” […]
But White told several Democratic officials Friday that he will not sign the appointment, maintaining his position that he wouldn’t certify any Blagojevich appointment in the wake of the governor’s federal corruption arrest unless the court forced him.
Senate Democratic leaders are weighing their options in light of the Illinois State Supreme Court decision that Roland Burris’s certificate of appointment does not require the secretary of state’s signature.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Illinois senior Sen. Dick Durbin had been very clear that their path to seating Burris began with the signature of Secretary of State Jesse White, citing a Senate rule from 1884 that seems to require it. The court ruled Friday afternoon that no such signature was required.
The court ruling leaves Burris in a new state of limbo, just two days after his seating in the Senate seemed imminent. But Burris, in a Friday afternoon statement, portrayed the ruling as a victory.
“I am very happy that the Supreme Court ruled supporting our argument that everything surrounding this appointment was legal and complete,” Burris said in a statement. “This appointment meets the qualifications required by the U.S. Senate of all gubernatorial appointees to fill vacated seats.”
Democratic leaders have refused to allow Burris – the 71-year-old former state attorney general – to serve because they said Senate rules require all appointees to have a signature from the secretary of state and the governor on their certification papers.
Burris believes the ruling helps him pass the test established by Democratic leaders.
“I am confident I have cooperated with all the requests of the U. S. Senate and I expect they will validate my credentials and seat me in a timely manner,” Burris said.
* 1:44 pm - From Attorney General Lisa Madigan…
It is clear that Secretary White is not the roadblock to Mr. Burris’s appointment to the U.S. Senate.
It remains within the power of the U.S. Senate to seat Mr. Burris. They should do so immediately.
* 1:43 pm - Here’s the alternative route suggested by the Supremes…
There is one final point we feel constrained to mention. While the Secretary of State has no duty under Illinois law to sign and affix the state seal to the certificate of appointment issued by the Governor, he does have a duty under section 5(4) of the Secretary of State Act (15 ILCS 305/5(4) (West 2006))
“to give any person requiring the same paying the lawful fees therefor, a copy of any law, act, resolution, record or paper in his office, and attach thereto his certificate, under the seal of the state.”
The registration of the appointment of Mr. Burris made by the Secretary of State is a “record or paper” within the meaning of this statute. A copy of it is available from the Secretary of State to anyone who requests it. For payment of the normal fee charged by the Secretary of State in accordance with this statute, Petitioners could obtain a certified copy bearing the state’s seal. Because such relief is possible, no order by this court is necessary or appropriate. [emphasis added]
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that Roland Burris can take his seat in the U.S. Senate without further action by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.
In an action which may remove the last legal or political impediment to Mr. Burris becoming senator, the seven justices on Friday unanimously ruled that Mr. White does not have to sign a certificate attesting to the appointment of Mr. Burris by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
”No further action is required by any officer of this state to make that appointment valid,” the court ruled. “We further hold that the only ministerial act required of the Secretary of State in this case is that he register the appointment.”
Mr. White already had done so, but had refused to sign a certificate delivered to the Senate, saying Mr. Blagojevich should not have appointed anyone to a seat he is accused of attempting to sell.
* 12:52 pm - The Illinois Supreme Court has just rejected Senator-Designate Roland Burris’ motion to force Secretary of State Jesse White to co-sign Burris’ appointment form…
Because the Secretary of State had no duty under section 5(1) of the Secretary of State Act (15 ILCS 305/5(1) (West 2006)) to sign and affix the state seal to the document issued by the Governor appointing Roland Burris to the United States Senate, Petitioners are not entitled to an order from this court requiring the Secretary to perform those Acts. Under the Secretary of State Act, the Secretary’s sole responsibility was to register the appointment (15 ILCS 305/5(2) (West 2006)), which he did. No further action is required by the Secretary of State or any other official to make the Governor’s appointment of Roland Burris to the United States Senate valid under Illinois law. Moreover, to the extent that additional proof of the validity of the appointment is necessary, Illinois law provides a mechanism for obtaining it without the need for judicial intervention.
For the foregoing reasons, petitioners’ request for issuance of a writ of mandamus is denied. Mandate to issue forthwith.
The ball is now in US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s, um, court. Reid has said that the rule requiring the secretary of state to co-sign has never been waived in the history of the Senate. So, he’ll have to back off that as well if Burris is to be seated.
Reid said this week that the full Senate might vote on whether to seat Burris.
Blagojevich emerged from his home on the city’s North Side in a black jogging suit Friday. He berated members of the media for bothering his neighbors and refused to answer questions before running off down the street.
A Blagojevich spokesman said the governor will not resign. A 2 p.m. news conference with the governor is scheduled for the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago.
“I voted Present because I did not completely agree on a Yes vote, and I didn’t agree on a No vote,” Jefferies said. “I felt that the reason all this had come about has been blown out of context.”
Jefferies said that she felt that the investigation against Blagojevich had become personal, with the legislators digging in on hirings that went back years. “I think there’s a lot of things that he could have done differently,” said Jefferies. “I’m not saying he’s been 100% right. And he’ll have his day in court.”
Jefferies concluded: “I voted my conscience.”
Yeah. Right.
* 12:08 pm - Illinois Public Radio is doing a live broadcast that’s definitely worth a listen. Click here.
* 11:46 am - Today is Richard Nixon’s birthday…
* 11:43 am - Rollcall video…
* 11:32 am - More on Rep. Patterson, the lone “No” vote…
[Patterson] says he read the impeachment committee’s report but wasn’t comfortable voting against the governor because he has “no first-hand knowledge of any of the evidence.”
Patterson says he went by his own “gut feeling.” He says he isn’t defending Blagojevich. But he says it’s up to prosecutors — not him — to indict the governor.
* 11:01 am - Where to now? The Senate will return next week to take up the impeachment issue. As I’ve told you before, the Senate will begin taking pleadings and other motions from the various parties on January 14th. The Senate trial is scheduled to start January 26th and is expected to last about nine days or so.
The House will likely pass a resolution on the 14th, when the new General Assembly is sworn in, to apply the impeachment resolution to the new GA. That’s standard procedure.
Removal by the Senate will require at least 40 votes, meaning that Gov. Blagojevich will have to find 20 votes to avoid removal. Impossible.
* 10:57 am - Via Progress Illinois, House Majority Leader and impeachment committee Chair Barbara Flynn Currie’s closing statement…
*10:54 am - A few new stories…
* Sun-Times: Illinois House votes to impeach Gov. Blagojevich
Governor Rod Blagojevich may have another appointment to make in the near future. Patricia Young resigned her seat on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s Board of Commissioners to return to her former position in the public affairs division of the district.
Under Illinois law, the governor appoints a replacement.
Rep. Milt Patterson (D-Chicago) was the lone vote against impeaching the governor. Patterson, from Chicago’s Southwest Side, said after the roll call that he didn’t feel it was his job to vote to impeach the governor. He declined comment on whether he approved of the job Blagojevich is doing.
A Blagojevich spokesman said the governor will not resign. A 2 p.m. news conference with the governor is scheduled for the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago.
We’ll live blog that as well.
* 10:44 am - Rep. Patterson, who has been quite ill, is still obviously bitter about being elbowed out of running for reelection by the political powers that be in his area last year. Jefferies is desperately seeking employment. That may not totally explain things, but it’s a start.
* 10:35 am - Rep. Elga Jefferies (D-Chicago) voted “Present.” FYI, Jefferies lost her primary last year and has been seeking employment.
* 10:31 am - Rep. Milt Patterson (D-Chicago) was the lone “No” vote.
* 10:27 am - 114 Yes, 1 No. Governor Blagojevich is hereby impeached. Adjourned
* 10:25 am - Speaker Madigan just said that there are no other people seeking recognition. Rep. Currie is now closing.
* 10:24 am - With a hat tip to a commenter, this is from the Tribune’s live blog…
Where, you might ask, is Gov. Rod Blagojevich as the Illinois House debates his impeachment?
A Tribune photographer took pictures of Blagojevich going jogging in his Ravenswood Manor neighborhood at about 10 a.m.
* 10:21 am - Rep. Julie Hamos, a possible statewide candidate: The impeachment power of the Legislature should be used in only the rarest of circumstances and for the most egregious acts… That’s why I have been uncomfortable from the beginning about the vagueness in the Illinois Constitution’s cause for impeachment… I wrote to 11,000 people on my e-mail list [about this topic] and I received hundreds of replies…. the vagueness of the Constitution is actually its strength.
* 10:07 am - I posted this in comments, but figured I’d front-page it as well. From CBS2…
A survey reported in Rich Miller’s “Capitol Fax” newsletter shows Illinois voters have had it up to here with Blagojevich, who is the focus of impeachment proceedings in Springfield.
When asked “Should the General Assembly remove Gov. Blagojevich?” – 78 percent said “yes”; 12 percent said “no.” Ten percent said they didn’t know or were not sure.
* 9:53 pm - If you’re having trouble with the state’s audio/video feeds, click here for the Tribune feed, or search around for others.
* 9:49 am - Rep. Jack Franks just said that the government under Blagojevich has become a “freak show.”
Franks: “The only way we hear from Rod Blagojevich is when he communicates through his criminal attorneys.”
* 9:42 am -Rep. Sara Feigenholtz is the other missing member. She’s reportedly on her way to the chamber, but I’m not sure when she’ll get there. I tried contacting her but have not yet heard back. Feigenholtz is running for Congress, so missing part of the debate is not a good thing.
*** UPDATE *** Feigenholtz reportedly had a medical emergency yesterday and is now on a plane on her way to Springfield.
The other hole in the rollcall for attendance is the late Rep. Wyvetter Younge, who has not yet been replaced. As I told you earlier, Blagojevich lieutenant Ken Dunkin is absent. That was by design, I’m told.
* 9:34 am - Rep. Lou Lang: The governor received an unprecedent level of due process at this committee. Bill Clinton’s lawyers were not allowed into the US House’s impeachment process, they couldn’t question witnesses, etc. “We asked many times to have the governor of the state of Illinois appear personally.”
“Cause,” Lang said about the reasoning for impeachment, “is up to you to decide.”
Lang quoted Richard Nixon saying: “‘When the president does it, it is not illegal.’ That’s Rod Blagojevich.”
Lang: “He has violated that oath, not only once or twice, but repeatedly. A pattern of abuse of power that I never thought we’d ever see in the state of Illinois and I hope we never see again.”
* 9:30 am - Rep. John Fritchey: This House is united to right the wrong that has been done to the state of Illinois.
* 9:26 am - Committee GOP Spokesman Jim Durkin: Our constitution doesn’t state that the attorney for the governor is allowed in the hearings… allowed to question witnesses… rebut evidence… allow him to call witnesses, but we did. We were thorough and fair. The governor’s attorney failed to rebut any of the evidence… The evidence was overwhelming.
* 9:13 am - House GOP Leader Tom Cross is now speaking. Cross thanked everyone involved in the process. He said committee members handled themselves in a professional, exemplary way. “[They] were able to find that fine line between fairness and due process.”
Cross: “He’s failed in his responsibility as governor. You will see a pattern that he repeatedly and systematically violated that oath of office.”
Cross: “We have no choice today but to vote ‘Yes’ on this resolution.”
* 9:06 am - Rep. Currie: We stand here today becase of the perfidy of one man. Rod Blagojevich.
Currie defended the impeachment process, pointing to the weeks of hearings and investigation, and noting that if this was truly a “vigilante” action then Blagojevich would have been impeached within days of his arrest.
The Speaker has just scolded the House for talking and walking around the House floor during this historic debate. That’s the usual House way, but it’s not exactly dignified during an impeachment vote.
Currie: “The governor has failed to uphold his oath of office… he is no longer capable of defending our liberty…. Gov. Blagojevich has forfeited his right to hold office.”
* 9:04 am - Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago) is a staunch Blagojevich ally and he’s absent today. How fitting. 115 of the 118 members answered the rollcall. Not sure yet who those other two are.
* Here’s a roundup of impeachment stories. You know pretty much everything already. Updates will be placed at the top of this post. The House will convene at 9 o’clock this morning. Listen or watch here. I’ll be live-blogging again.
* My Sun-Times column today is a deliberately contrarian viewpoint that may not go over well with some people. So be it…
There’s been a lot of talk lately that Roland Burris can’t possibly win a full term if he’s seated in the United States Senate.
I’m not 100 percent convinced, so please allow me a few contrarian thoughts.
The appointment of Burris by arrested, embattled and soon-to-be impeached Gov. Blagojevich has caused an intense racial firestorm in our state and our nation. The situation is almost approaching O.J. Simpson levels, and it’s intensifying with every passing day.
A statewide poll taken this week by the Glengariff Group illustrates the racial divide. African-American voters in Illinois support the Burris appointment by a 67 percent to 21 percent. White voters opposition to the appointment is a similarly lopsided 58 percent to 26 percent.
Illinois Democrats are divided. But a plurality, 46 percent, favors the appointment while 41.5 percent oppose it, the poll found.
If Burris is seated as our state’s next U.S. senator, he’ll have to run for re-election in 2010. The Democratic primary is in early February of that year, less than 13 months from now.
Considering the racial hostility inflamed by this appointment, with U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush leading the charge by first warning against “lynching” Burris and then comparing the U.S. Senate leadership to old-time southern sheriffs, there is no way that a legitimate white Democratic opponent will announce against Burris anytime soon. Too risky.
Yes, there may be some early interest expressed by the usual white liberal suspects, but those people have never shown an ability to move too far up the ladder.
The top white Democratic prospects will have to lie low until the heat dies down. Time is money in politics, and every day that goes by will mean one less day that they can’t raise cash.
A legit white opponent could eventually emerge. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias comes to mind.
Giannoulias, who has set his sights on the governor’s office, would likely only run with the blessing of his mentor Barack Obama, however. Obama played a key role in the Senate’s capitulation to Burris this week by privately urging Democratic leaders to just get it over with and seat the guy. And you better believe there will be pressure on Obama from African-American politicos to endorse Burris, or at least stay out of the 2010 race.
A Giannoulias/Obama win also assumes the emergence of only one major white candidate. There could be more. Comptroller Dan Hynes, for instance. More than one white candidate would immensely help Burris’ primary chances.
Burris has become a national cause celebre, so he ought to be able to raise lots of early campaign money from African Americans throughout the country. And because 46 percent of Illinois Democrats support his appointment, the move wasn’t as unpopular with his party as some (like me) assumed.
Then there’s the general election. Democrats are in a pickle with voters right now — Burris, Blagojevich, Todd Stroger, etc. — but that doesn’t mean Illinois voters automatically love Republicans.
Plus, what sort of Republican might emerge from a primary? If past experience dictates, it will be either a conservative who will repel general election voters, or a badly damaged moderate. And, remember, “moderate” is a term that can be easily twisted to “right-winger.” Just ask Judy Baar Topinka.
The dynamic changes if Pat Quinn can persuade the General Assembly to call a snap special election after he is sworn in as governor. But I’m not so sure Quinn will be able to keep that promise. Legislative Democrats don’t want to take the chance of a Republican winning the seat — even if the chance is somewhat small.
Barring that prospect, Burris might just surprise everybody by winning in 2010. I wouldn’t bet big money on it yet, but I wouldn’t bet against him right now, either.
* Meanwhile, I was shocked yesterday that the Republicans on the impeachment committee let this pass without much notice…
A potentially troublesome new detail emerged about Roland Burris’ controversial U.S. Senate appointment Thursday after a state House panel voted unanimously to recommend Gov. Blagojevich be impeached.
For the first time, Burris indicated that he asked Blagojevich’s former chief of staff and college classmate, Lon Monk, to relay his interest in the Senate seat to the governor last July or September. […]
That testimony appears to differ from an affidavit Burris submitted to the impeachment panel this week in which he stated he spoke to no “representatives” of the governor about the Senate post prior to Dec. 26.
Federal prosecutors, who identified Monk as “Lobbyist 1″ in their criminal complaint against Blagojevich, indicated they tapped Monk’s phone in November as Blagojevich moved to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat.
The Near West Side school Thursday was told officials want to close Carpenter — where students are 97 percent low-income — and turn its building over to a Gold Coast elementary recently approved for a new high school.
“I’m still in shock. You’re taking our school to give to rich kids? What about poor kids? I’m so angry,” said parent Patricia Herron.
Chicago Public Schools officials declined comment, saying school closings, to be announced next week, haven’t been finalized.
“Today’s vote was not a surprise. The outcome was a foregone conclusion especially when you consider the committee released its report hours before wrapping up testimony. The Governor believes that the impeachment proceedings were flawed, biased and did not follow the rules of law. His team was not allowed to subpoena witnesses, they were never allowed to cross examine people and never given the chance to put on any kind of defense. In all, the Governor’s rights to due process were deprived.
“When the case moves to the Senate, an actual judge will preside over the hearings, and the Governor believes the outcome will be much different.”
