Illinois lawmakers vote overwhelmingly to impeach tainted governor

After almost a month of dilly-dallying, in a dramatic display of anger and solidarity over a political scandal that has made Illinois a national laughings tock, lawmakers on Friday voted 114-1 to impeach disgraced governor Rod Blagojevich.

Now, his fate will be decided in a Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out for allegedly trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.

Blagojevich was arrested on 9 December 2007 on federal charges that include allegations of scheming 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. (See: Illinois governor Blagojevich arrested by federal authorities on corruption charges)

That arrest triggered impeachment hearings by a special House committee. The committee on Thursday, 8 January 2008, unanimously recommended impeachment based on the criminal charges but other allegations as well - that Blagojevich expanded a healthcare programme without proper authority, that he circumvented hiring laws to give jobs to political allies, that he spent millions of dollars on foreign flu vaccines that he knew wouldn't be needed and couldn't be brought into the country.

"Due to his conduct, the governor has failed to uphold the oath of office," said Rep Barbara Flynn Currie, chair of the House panel. "He is no longer capable of defending our liberties. He should be impeached."

Representative Jack Franks, D, said the "plague" brought upon the state by Blagojevich will be lifted. "Our duty is to clean up the mess and stop the freak show that has become our government," he said. The only lawmaker voting against impeachment was Representative Milton Patterson, a Democrat who represents Chicago's South Side.

"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 has denied the criminal charges. He criticised 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.

Blagojevich was allowed to have lawyers present at the hearing. They could question witnesses to clarify points but not conduct full cross-examinations. The defence wanted to subpoena members of Obama's transition team, but that wasn't allowed because of worries it would interfere with the federal investigation of Blagojevich.