SPRINGFIELD – In a historic move, the Illinois House of Representatives voted 114-1-1 to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich for abuse of power on Friday, the first time in state history a sitting Governor has been impeached. Blagojevich will now be scheduled to go on trial in the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is needed to convict him of the charges and remove him from office.
The impeachment resolution was approved Friday, following weeks of hearings and public testimony by the bipartisan Special Investigative Committee of the Illinois House, which unanimously voted to recommend impeachment to the full House chamber on Thursday. The Senate trial is tentatively set to begin later this month.
“When you put it all together, the impeachment report compiles a stunning 59 page compendium of corruption and wrongdoing,” said Leitch, “Now that the circus is almost over, the real work begins. Illinois faces financial and administrative dysfunction of unprecedented dimension.”