The impeachment of Blagojevich

The Illinois House of Representatives voted 114–1 to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 13 charges of abusing his power.

The Illinois House of Representatives voted 114–1 last week to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 13 charges of abusing his power, including an attempt to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. Blagojevich will now be tried by the state Senate and, if convicted, removed from office, a process that could take months. “It’s our duty to clean up the mess and to stop the freak show which has become Illinois government,” said Rep. Jack Franks.

Blagojevich vowed to fight the impeachment and said legislators were targeting him because he cares too much about the poor and the sick. “Is that an impeachable offense?” he asked. He also quoted a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson about being “strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us