Posted on 12/12/2008 11:20:48 AM PST by John W
CHICAGO (CBS) ― The push for impeachment gained traction in Springfield Thursday, as Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to keep up a front of "normalcy," working at his downtown office.
Sources told CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine that the governor is actively considering resigning -- perhaps sooner rather than later -- as the move to impeach him gained new momentum and new urgency.
House Democratic leaders began to gauge the appetite within their caucus to support an impeachment motion that could be filed as soon as Monday.
Kissing his daughters and his wife good-bye the morning as they headed off to school and to work was the only glimpse we got of the governor Thursday. The only sign of him at the state of Illinois building was his Christmas greeting hanging in the Atrium.
Blagojevich's spokesperson, Lucio Guerrero, said the governor was upbeat and "trying to stay positive" as he spent a second day working since his arrest. But he acknowledged the governor is aware of outside public sentiment.
"I think he realizes there are some people out there who want him to resign," Guerrero said. "I think the suddenness of all this is something he has to take some time to sort through things."
Guerrero added, "There's a lot of things he would like to say to the people of Illinois, and he probably will say them when the time comes."
Behind the scenes, Illinois lawmakers were moving to end the crisis in state government quickly.
Thursday afternoon, a letter to all Democratic state representatives from Rep. John Fritchey, head of the House Civil Judiciary Committee, maintained "it is imperative to replace Governor Blagojevich as soon as is practicable."
"Pursuing impeachment, while unfortunate, is the most direct and certain way to achieve the goal which we need to achieve, which is the removal of the governor," Fritchey said in an interview.
In Springfield Thursday, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn said the impeachment process should begin when the Legislature convenes. If lawmakers don't take action, he would support Madigan going to the Supreme Court.
Quinn strongly criticized the possibility of a special election to fill Obama's seat, saying it would take too long, leaving Illinois with just one senator in Washington for months. Quinn said he has not spoken to potential Senate appointees and doesn't have a short list of candidates.
If he becomes governor, Quinn said his "first order of business" will be appointing a senator. He did not flatly rule out choosing a Republican, saying he would pick the most qualified candidate.
Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday by federal agents for allegedly trying to sell the vacant seat to the highest bidder.
The state's Republicans also seemed to agree it's time to impeach.
"Our governor has no ability to lead anymore," House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, said. "People don't have any confidence in him anymore. We need to move forward."
Cross also favors forcing a special election for the U.S. Senate seat.
Of course all this could be sidetracked should the governor decide to step down. There is also some thought being given by the governor -- who still maintains privately he did absolutely nothing wrong -- to sticking around and fighting the impeachment movement, at least at the beginning.
Fritchey urged his colleagues help remove Blagojevich from office, rather than rely on the governor to resign voluntarily or hope that legal proceedings initiated by Attorney General Lisa Madigan would be successful. Fritchey asked the House members to respond by Friday and invited them to sign on as co-sponsors of the impeachment measure.
Fritchey has been a longtime critic of Blagojevich, a Chicago Democrat whose administration has been plagued by scandal and controversy.
In Illinois, the House initiates and convenes impeachment proceedings, but the Senate renders a final decision on whether to remove a sitting governor.
If he resigns, he doesn’t avoid any criminal suits does he? I really want to see what Obama’s involvement was.
Good Riddance.
Hope you are in prison soon and for many, many years.
I guess Blago realizes that losing his job is preferable to gaining a pair of Lake Michigan-style cement shoes.
Read the writing on the wall scumbag.
He should stick his ground. Don’t go anywhere!
Be fun news for awhile.
Dang! Hope he stays & fights. Reigning RATS won’t let him because he’s a source of embarrassment to the obot RATS & ultimately Osama. He knows where the bodies are! What he could tell would be juicy & a whale of a lot of fun.
Walking on sunshine, right blogoscupus?
No! Bad idea, Blago!
Stand tall! It's what got you to the top! Stand as a gleaming banner for your party and its integrity! This is all some dirty Republican plot, and you should get all the cash you can for that Senate seat. Anything less would make you look like a grade A chooch.
Owl_Eagle
“When the stock market crashed,
Franklin Roosevelt got on the television
and didn’t just talk about
the princes of greed, he said,
‘Look, here’s what happened.’"
-Slow Joe Biden
In the meantime, Rahm Emmanuel is hiding out at his house, using his kids as shields.
Typical terrorist...
“He should stick his ground. Don’t go anywhere! Be fun news for awhile.”
That’s right! Let’s send him letters of support urging him to fight on! Name names, Governor! Name names!!!!
So is osama & Jarrett. :) All three are the osama mafia.
The last thing we in IL need from him is “normalcy”.
Normal to Blago is to get on the phone and yell at people “HEY you MFer, send me some money! Do it right now!”
We don’t need more Blago business-as-usual!
He could avoid a lot by cutting a deal. Good for him and his Chicago friends at home and elsewhere.
Too late, IMO. Those shoes are waiting as we type.
Little tip to Blago and his wife: Stay off airplanes, helicopters...and whatever you do, hire a food taster and a valet to start your cars while you wait from a safe distance.
Don’t do it, Governor!
Stand up and fight! We want a full impeachment trial that lasts months. You can run with a defense of “all Democrats do this” and “President Obama approved of my conduct”!
“I really want to see what Obama’s involvement was.”
Blago will dummy up until Zero slithers into the White House and pardons him.
NO!!!!! If Blago resigns there will be no more attention on the dirty political machine in Chicago. Obama will go back to being above reproach. As long as Blagojevich is fighting for his job Obama will be scrutinized. Call Blago and beg him to stay. Innocent until proven guilty.
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