Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was pushed one step closer to the edge of the cliff Friday when the Illinois House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impeach him. The 114-1 vote came exactly one month to the day after he was arrested on charges of trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.
Impeachment required just 60 votes. Friday's decision was unprecedented in Illinois history, and sets the stage for a Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out of office for corruption and abuse of power.
The governor has denied wrongdoing and continues to hold on to office. But lawmakers and officials say the governor has violated the public trust and can no longer perform the duties of his office.
"We need him out and we need him out immediately," Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White told FOX News after the House vote. "The people of the state of Illinois would benefit from his removal."
Blagojevich has tried to assert his authority in recent weeks, continuing to sign legislation and appointing a successor to Obama, former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris. U.S. senators have not yet seated Burris but are in talks with the appointee.
Legislators accused the second-term governor of letting down the people of Illinois by letting ego and ambition drive his decisions.
"It's our duty to clean up the mess and stop the freak show that's become Illinois government," said Rep. Jack D. Franks, a Democrat.
Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on federal charges that include allegations he schemed to profit from his power to name Obama's replacement in the Senate. The criminal complaint included an FBI agent's sworn affidavit describing wiretaps that caught Blagojevich allegedly talking about what he could get for the seat, how to pressure people into making campaign contributions and more.
That arrest triggered impeachment hearings by a special House committee.
The committee on Thursday unanimously recommended impeachment based on the criminal charges but other allegations as well -- that Blagojevich expanded a health care program without proper authority, that he circumvented hiring laws to give jobs to political allies, that he spent millions of dollars on foreign flu vaccine that he knew wasn't needed and couldn't be brought into the country.
"The citizens of this state must have confidence that their governor will faithfully serve the people and put their interests before his own," the committee's report said. "It is with profound regret that the committee finds that our current governor has not done so."
Blagojevich criticized the House impeachment process as biased and said a Senate trial would produce a different result.
But he didn't testify before the House impeachment committee and hasn't offered an explanation for the federal charges.
"His silence in this great matter is deafening," said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago.
(Source Fox News & The Associated Press)
A board inside the Illinois House of Representatives shows the names of members voting on the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich Friday in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo)
