House starts impeachment, blocks special election

The Illinois House voted unanimously today to start impeachment proceedings of second term Governor Rod Blagojevich at the State Capitol.  With a balance of 12 Democrats and 9 Republicans, the first committee hearing, chaired by State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, will begin in the capitol's Rm 114 tomorrow morning at 10:00 am.

IR learned this evening that the nine Republicans who will serve on the impeachment committee are:  State Reps Jim Durkin, Jim Sacia, Chapin Rose, Roger Eddy, Bill Black, Mike Bost, Susie Bassi, Jil Tracy and Patti Bellock.

During House floor discussion today, Republicans raised questions as to why the committee was not more evenly divided and asked about procedure to call witnesses and how much power Republican committee members would have over who is called to testify.

Questions raised by Republican State Rep. Roger Eddy and Jim Durkin were specific about who will determine the direction of the impeachment committee interviews, how witnesses are decided and how to force uncooperative witnesses to appear before the committee. 

For some observers, the discussion surrounding HR 1650 revealed how Democratic committee members may be forced to hold tight reins, and how concerned some may be that an impeachment hearing of Rod Blagojevich may end up opening an embarrassing ethical can of worms, leading to more questions and connections with other lawmakers. 

The vote on HR 1650 was 113 to 0, with four Republicans and one Democrat excused for the day.

Despite attempts to bring special election to the House floor for a vote, the Democratic leadership stonewalled the legislation, and adjourned until mid-January 2009.

(Kudos to State Rep. Ruth Munson (R-Elgin) for sharing her historic from-the-House-floor photos.  Photo to right is of State Rep. Chapin Rose, member of impeachment committee)