CHICAGO – With pressure mounting by the hour for him to resign or face impeachment, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich returned to work Thursday in what an aide described as an attempt to "return to normalcy." Blagojevich, facing federal charges accusing him of putting President-elect Barack Obama's seat up for sale, did his best to ignore, or appear to ignore, the storm swirling around him.
Obama himself called on Blagojevich to step down. Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn urged lawmakers to quickly begin impeachment proceedings. And the state's attorney general threatened a last-resort option of getting a state high court order declaring Blagojevich unfit to serve.
"Illinois is in crisis," Quinn said at the state Capitol.
Blagojevich, meanwhile, returned for a second day to his Chicago office and was in an "upbeat, positive" mood, spokesman Lucio Guerrero said.
"There's a sense of trying to return to normalcy," he said, adding that he doesn't know whether Blagojevich will step down. "That's something that obviously he'll decide on his own."
Allegations that the governor tried to sell or trade Obama's Senate seat form just part of the federal charges that led to his arrest Tuesday. Obama said at a news conference that neither he nor members of his staff were involved in making a deal with the disgraced governor.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan again threatened to go to the state Supreme Court to have Blagojevich declared unfit to hold office if he doesn't resign soon or get impeached.
"Obviously right now in the best of all possible worlds the governor would do what's right for the people of the state of Illinois — he would resign," Madigan, a longtime Blagojevich foe who is considering a run for governor in 2010, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
But "at this point he appears to be staying put" and Madigan wants a signal from lawmakers about whether they will move quickly on impeachment proceedings.
Legislative leaders planned a special session Monday to strip Blagojevich of his power to pick a new U.S. senator, putting the decision in the hands of Illinois voters instead. Lawmakers also prepared to discuss the possibility of impeachment.
Quinn said the impeachment process should begin when the Legislature convenes and if that lawmakers don't take action to remove Blagojevich, he would support Madigan going to the Supreme Court.
"The Legislature should focus on the source of the problem," Quinn said. "The governor is in office and he needs to be removed from office. ... I think that is what the people of Illinois want."
A poll taken since Blagojevich's arrest shows 73 percent of those surveyed support impeachment and 70 percent think he should resign. The poll by Chicago-based Glengariff Group of 600 Illinoisans surveyed Tuesday and Wednesday shows Blagojevich's approval rating at an abysmal 8 percent. The telephone poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent.
Blagojevich's lawyers insist he is innocent and stress that he still has important work to do for the state of Illinois.
The White House on Thursday said President George W. Bush finds Blagojevich's alleged behavior "astounding."
It was unclear what incentive the governor has to give up his office.
A resignation might make him appear guilty. The office also gives him a certain amount of clout, which can help him raise money for his defense.
Republican Sen. Christine Radogno said it's possible Blagojevich would use his resignation as a bargaining chip with prosecutors and agree to step down in exchange for leniency.
Blagojevich's decision to show up for work Wednesday and Thursday like it was another day at the office angered much of the state's political establishment. The prospect that the second-term Democratic governor might still try to appoint someone to the Senate also loomed.
Guerrero said Thursday he didn't whether Blagojevich had a plan for the seat.
"Not that he has shared with me," the spokesman said.
On Tuesday, FBI agents arrested Blagojevich at his home and took him away in handcuffs. Prosecutors released a thick document that included excerpts of wiretapped conversations in which the governor allegedly schemed to enrich himself by offering to sell Obama's Senate seat for campaign cash or a lucrative job inside or outside government.
They also allege he pressured the Tribune Co. to fire editorial writers at the Chicago Tribune after several negative editorials about Blagojevich.
Blagojevich is charged with conspiracy and solicitation to commit bribery, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and 10 years, respectively.
More than 24 hours after the arrest, Obama joined other prominent Democrats in calling for Blagojevich's resignation.
"The president-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Asked whether Obama supports a special election to pick his successor, Gibbs said Obama believes the Illinois General Assembly should consider how to fill the Senate seat and "put in place a process to select a new senator that will have the trust and confidence of the people of Illinois."
Senate Democrats were more pointed in a letter to the governor: They "insist that you step down" and not name anyone to replace Obama. An appointment by a new governor would "be the most expeditious way for a new senator to be chosen and seated in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and all Americans," wrote Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and the party's second-ranking leader, Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois.
They suggested the Senate might reject anyone chosen by Blagojevich. The Constitution gives the Senate authority to refuse to allow a member to be sworn in.
When Illinois lawmakers meet Monday, they'll consider changing state election law to fill Senate vacancies by special election, rather than leaving the decision to the governor.
Quinn, the lieutenant governor, strongly criticized that approach, saying it would cost millions and leave Illinois with just one senator for months. He said Blagojevich should be quickly removed so he can take over and make the appointment.
Brown, the spokesman for the House speaker, noted that any change in the law would go to the governor's desk, where Blagojevich could let it sit and still pick a senator.
"Despite our best efforts, the governor could play hide the ball. That is an inescapable reality," Brown said. "I'm hoping that's not the case."
Brown said the speaker hasn't ordered staff to begin researching impeachment but that individual legislators are doing so. The speaker's office also compiled a memo earlier this year on arguments for impeaching the governor.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081211/ap_on_re_us/illinois_governor
Topic: Ill. gov 'upbeat' as resignation demands multiply (Read 516 times)