In a dramatic display of anger and solidarity over a political scandal that has made Illinois a national laughingstock, lawmakers on Friday voted 114-1 to impeach disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich.It's the first time in the state's history that the Illinois House has voted to impeach its governor. The impeachment proceedings will now move to the Illinois Senate for trial. That trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 26.Blagojevich was out jogging in Chicago while lawmakers in Springfield voted to impeach him. Upon returning from his run, he compared his situation to the loneliness of long-distance running. Later Friday, Blagojevich blamed the House for stonewalling his agenda to "fight" for the people. He said his work to help the people of Illinois is "not an impeachable offense.''The governor reiterated he is not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing and, gesturing toward a group of Illinoisans who had suffered health problems gathered next to him said, "They hired me to fight for them and I'm going to fight for them every step of the way."The one lawmaker voting against impeachment was Rep. Milton Patterson, a Chicago Demorcrat who represents the South Side. Rep Elga Jefferies, also a Chicago Democrat, voted present.Patterson said he wasn't defending anyone, but that he read the impeachment committee's report and wasn't comfortable voting against the governor. "I have no firsthand knowledge of any of the evidence," he said. "I went by my own gut feeling, it's as simple as that," he said. "I read the report. If the government is going to indict him, let them go ahead and do that. That's their job and I'm doing my job." Before the vote, lawmakers lined up to denounce the governor. They expressed anger and embarrassment over his alleged behavior, which includes a criminal complaint that he attempted to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat."Due to his conduct, the governor has failed to uphold the oath of office," Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), chair of the House panel that held impeachment hearings, said. "He is no longer capable of defending our liberties. He should be impeached.""The plague that has been brought upon us by Rod Blagojevich will be lifted," said Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock). "We will no longer tolerate the culture of corruption that has seized our government. Our duty is to clean up the mess and stop the freak show that has become our government.""Our institiution has suffered severe damage," said Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago). "But, our institution will rise from the ashes.""My Illinois is not the Illinois of George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich, but Abe Lincoln and Barack Obama," Fritchey said.Others compared the governor to another politician he made no secret of admiring. "Here we are on Nixon's birthday and the governor sounds a lot like Richard Nixon," Rep. Lou Lang said (D-Skokie). "When the president does it, it's not illegal, that's Rod Blagojevich." "It's only fitting that he's being impeached on Nixon's birthday," Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago) said, adding the two politicians are now linked forever. With the exception of Republican impeachment committee leader Jim Durkin and House Minority Leader Tom Cross, no other GOP members spoke out. Cross said after the session that there was no need to pile on. There was no sympathy for Blagojevich, and no sadness, with the possible exception of the governor's former roommate and best friend. "The person depicted in some of the transcripts and some of the information that's been put forward does not appear to be the same person that I knew over the years," Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville). In the end, though, Hoffman followed his party's lead. The next step in this historic process will be a trial on the other side of the rotunda in the State Senate. The Senate committee drawing up the rules for that trial met Friday and plans to file a resolution outlining the process by Monday. The trial could come in just over two weeks. Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald would sit in the seat normally occupied by the Senate president. Just in front of him: a special prosecutor, still being sought by a House committee. In their normal seats, Illinois state senators will act as the jury. A two-thirds majority would be needed to remove Blagojevich from office. Former state senator and comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch it's important senators act fairly. That's exactly what a Senate committee at the Thompson Center, writing the rules for the trial, was trying to do -- bending over backwards, it said, to be fair to the governor. Being considered for special prosecutor is former justice Alan Greiman, a Democrat, and the impeachment committee's legal counsel, former assistant U.S. attorney Thomas Durkin, the brother of GOP representative Jim Durkin. The trial will end with two votes: the first for the impeachment and removal from office of Rod Blagojevich, the second to disqualify him from holding public office in Illinois again. On Thursday, the House impeachment investigation committee voted 21-0 to send the issue to the full House for a vote. The panel released a scathing report, outlining the governor's alleged misdeeds.The 69-page draft report outlines all the criminal charges against Blagojevich, including his alleged plan to sell the U.S. Senate, to withhold state assistance for the sale of Wrigley Field if Chicago Tribune editorial writers were not fired, and to shake down Children's Memorial Hospital.Dont Worry Blago...You gon be aight My Dude!!!
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