Story posted Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Local Politicians Prep For Roles In Governor's TrialJournal & Topics Staff Report
On or about Jan. 26, the Illinois state senate becomes a jury, Gov. Rod Blagojevich becomes a defendant, Chief Justice Tom Fitzgerald becomes a trial judge, and the people of Illinois will witness the most unprecedented legal proceeding in the state's 191-year history.
It's the next step in the process to remove the governor from office – an impeachment trial in the state Senate. According to a number of Journal-area legislators, it's about time it happened.
For the first time in the state's checkered political history, a sitting governor has been charged with abusing his executive power. By a 114-1 vote, the House agreed with its impeachment committee that Blagojevich's alleged schemes to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat and mount a "pay to play" system on state deals and hiring practices, are impeachable offenses.
The governor will be formally served with the articles of impeachment today (Wednesday). He will then be tried by the Senate in its next session, which runs from Jan. 26 to Feb. 5.
"We have no power to take away his personal liberty or put him in jail," said State Sen. Matt Murphy (R-27th) "We do have the power to remove him from office and bar him from holding office in Illinois again." Murphy will be one of nine senators who will serve on a special committee that will set up the rules for the trial.
"We have added 10 days to our calendar to accommodate this trial and if it takes longer to do it right, then so be it," Murphy added. "I don't anticipate that the trial will go much beyond that."
Two-thirds votes of the Senate's 59 members, or 40, are needed to convict and impeach the governor. "My understanding of the state constitution is that if the two-thirds vote to convict happens, the removal from office is immediate," said Janie Morrison, director of state Sen. Dan Kotowski's staff, this week.
If that occurs. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn would be sworn in as governor and would serve out the two years remaining on Blagojevich's second four-year term.
A special prosecutor will be appointed by House members to come before the Senate to argue for a conviction, and a defense attorney will represent the governor in the trial.
"My role as a juror in the trial is to weigh the evidence carefully and make a decision based on that evidence," said Kotowski. "I have a constitutional responsibility as a juror. I believe the evidence that's going to be presented is going to be pretty clear.
"I did not support the governor for re-election in 2006. I broke with my own party to not support him. I have a history of opposition, but that being said, that has to do with decisions that were made previously. I now have a role as a juror in the trial."
"Even with what we know about his past workings in government, I was still surprised at the governor's audacity to sell the U.S. Senate seat," said Murphy. "For those who have had a front row seat of his antics over the years, nothing that has come out is all that shocking. I have witnessed a lot of conduct on his part."
Murphy said, however, that he won't pre-judge what the Senate will decide in regards to impeachment. "But the way the House voted last week with overwhelming numbers, demonstrates how numerous state politicians are leaning."
Sen. Susan Garrett (D-29th) said, "I fully expect the trial to be a fair process. Sides of the aisle will be very fair and deliberative in their consideration, I will fully consider the evidence, but I also have been critical of some of the governor's actions. When it came to the governor making the appointment of Roland Burris to the United State Senate to take Obama's seat, never did I imagine what we were getting into, it was a charade," she said.
"My comment should not be interpreted as a negative commentary on Burris," she added.
"It's a sad and happy day for the State of Illinois," said Rep. Sidney Mathias, R-53rd) of Buffalo Grove. "It's sad because we have a governor whose actions have forced us to take this extraordinary measure of impeachment, rather than doing the right thing for our state by resigning.
"It's also a happy day because it shows that no one is above the law and the system works. While the state is in the midst of a constitutional and economic crisis, the governor deserves a fair trial in the senate," he concluded.
A House committee has released a detailed report to state representatives, listing all of the various allegations against the governor. "The report showed that the governor put his own self-interest above our state," Mathias said. "He thought he was above the law, but he has really hurt our citizens."