While Governor Blagojevich has the right to due process, it is clear that he can not govern and should resign.  The allegations made by the U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald yesterday about Governor Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, are stunningly serious.  The federal corruption charges allege that “they and others are engaging in ongoing criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions – both historically and now in a push before a new state ethics law takes effect January 1, 2009.” Click here to read the U.S. Department of Justice’s press release and click here to read the full criminal complaint against Blagojevich and Harris.
 
Given the nature of the allegations and our current circumstances, there are 3 things I believe must happen.  First, the Governor can not be permitted to appoint anyone to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat.   Both the Illinois House and Illinois Senate will reconvene in special session next Monday, December 15th to vote to establish a special election for the U.S. Senate seat.  By law, the Governor will have 60 days to sign or veto any legislation we pass.  If the Governor attempts to appoint someone to the U.S. Senate seat there are potential actions that can be taken by other public officials, including Harry Reid, President of the U.S. Senate, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, to prevent the appointment.

Second, if Governor Blagojevich has not resigned by next Monday when the Illinois House meets, the House should begin a process to impeach Governor Blagojevich.  The Illinois Constitution grants the House of Representatives the “sole power to conduct legislative investigations to determine the existence of cause for impeachment and, by the vote of a majority of the members elected, to impeach Executive and Judicial officers.”  Thus a majority of the Representatives (60 of the 118 members) must vote to impeach, and the grounds for impeachment are not delineated.  If the House votes to impeach, the Illinois Senate would be convened to serve as the jury, with the Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding.  Two-thirds of the Senators (40 of the 59 members) must vote to convict.   The link to the Illinois Constitution Article IV, which includes impeachment, is available here at section 14.

Third, the culture of corruption clearly continues in Illinois politics and must be addressed.  I believe there are laws we can enact to tackle some of the systemic problems that enable corruption to exist.  For instance, in reading the federal criminal charges, it appears that the new pay-to-play ban the General Assembly passed last session may have affected the Governor’s alleged corrupt behavior to raise additional funds before the state contractor ban starts on January 1, 2009.  Obviously we can not take solace in the possible reprehensible acts that violate our collective conscience and our laws, but at least we know the ban will likely reduce this behavior in the future.  We can not stop here, however, to change systematic corruption in Illinois government.  We must cap the overall amount any one or any company can contributed to a political campaign.  Illinois is one of only 4 states that has no limits on campaign contributions.  We must also establish transparency in lobbyist reporting.  We should know what clients are paying who to do what work.  While such changes have been difficult to address in Springfield, the events of yesterday may provide an opportunity to push through needed reforms.  I – along with a number of my colleagues – are already discussing how we can use these horrible circumstances to tackle these long overdue reforms.

Illinois residents deserve – and must demand – better of their leaders.  I do not believe we will be able to get needed reforms passed in the General Assembly without voters demanding the change.  All of us must act to put needed pressure on our elected officials.  I will keep you posted on my efforts, and hope that you and residents throughout the state will help to ensure we use this moment in time to press for change.
 
Heather A. Steans
State Senator