Illinois Legislators Officially Launch Effort To Impeach Blago
The Illinois legislature is now officially getting the ball rolling on impeaching Rod Blagojevih, with state House Speaker Mike Madigan (father of state Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan) announcing the formation of a special bipartisan House committee at a press conference just now.
"We're gonna ask the committee to begin work tomorrow, and work everyday except Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, until they have rendered a judgment," Madigan said, stressing the importance of speed. But he also added: "I'm not gonna be one who's gonna rush to judgment about the possible impeachment of a sitting governor of the state of Illinois."
The catch: Since Madigan the Elder is committed to ensuring Blagojevich's rights of due process, this just means he's going to continue as governor for quite a while longer as they go through a methodical impeachment proceeding. And since they feel to the need to convene this special committee, that tells us even more that Blago probably won't be resigning any time soon.
So Blago is still going to be the governor, and Barack Obama's Senate seat will stay vacant as they try to figure out how to proceed with a special election. Unless something drastic happens, expect this thing to drag out for weeks -- perhaps even going into the beginning of Barack Obama's actual term as president.
I think it's time to pull out the ol' trustworthy magic eight ball and come up with some definitive answers to this mess.
December 15, 2008 1:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
If not resolved by January, perhaps an ambassadorship to Serbia is in order,,,,, both the hairdo and ethical standards would make him a great fit for the position.
December 15, 2008 1:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
that tells us even more that Blago probably won't be resigning any time soon.
I follow the reasoning, but aren't you neglecting to take into account the individual in question?
Blags doesn't give the appearance of being intimately acquainted with reality or logic. Many other pols, in his position, might read the situation exactly as you have. But he's special, isn't he?
December 15, 2008 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well why should he resign for f***ing nothing? He's sitting on an F***ing gold mine. They want him to resign in exchange for appreciation? F**k them! A Governors seat is a valuable thing!
December 15, 2008 4:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
And people say such nasty things about you. You got my point precisely.
December 15, 2008 4:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mike Madigan is just feeling the pressure to go after Blago. Letting his daughter Lisa the AG take the lead against his arch nemesis by going to the Supreme Court first made it look like MM was deferring legislature action so she could be the hero. Now is no time to be seen playing nepotism or any other kind of games in Illinois.
When he says that committee will be working straight thru except for the holidays he's not signaling any kind of timeline. The emphasis should be on the "until they have rendered a judgment" part of that statement. I don't think he wants to impeach Blago. Too messy. He wants to convince him to resign.
December 15, 2008 2:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
The only upshot to this whole sad tale is that I get to see my fave politician crush, Ill. Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan on TV all the time now. Something about those glasses.. : )
As my Chicago pal says,"she's the thinking man's Sarah Palin." Understatement of the century, my man.
December 15, 2008 2:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Illinois GOP has really screwed up again. They should be capitalizing on this Blagojevich thing, but the GOP players are too tied to the Dem players. There's really just one political party in Illinois, and it's as dirty as it gets. Republicans go to prison here as often as Democrats, if not more so. Nearly every scandal is bi-partisan in Illinois.
This special election thing is just the latest gimmick. Consider that the very GOP leaders from Illinois who say it would be so great are the very same clowns who won't allow real elections within their own State Republican Party! These same people have viciously opposed their own Republican membership from having a real vote. They won't even give Republicans the same voting rights Illinois Democrats have here in their State Party.
See for example:
Cross and McKenna now say they want direct elections – just not for Republicans
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1476
December 15, 2008 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I still think Blago should submit to a CAT scan to see if he has a brain tumor. If he does, he can be found medically unfit and removed from office on those grounds. If no anomaly is found, then we can pretty much conclude that he's just a crook and proceed accordingly.
December 15, 2008 5:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
I feel bad for the guy. He worked his way up from nothing and then got a shovel to see how much further down he could end up.
December 15, 2008 8:23 PM | Reply | Permalink