Jeff Wartman

With the removal of Governor Rod Blagojevich from office, a new era has begun in Illinois politics.  However, the national media seems to have a lot of misconceptions about what’s going on with Rod Blagojevich.  Unfortunately, ignorance of the laws and procedures of the state of Illinois are giving some the wrong idea that Blagojevich was not being given a fair trial.

1. Impeachment is not a court proceeding.  This is not a court of law, and the laws and protections when someone is on trial do not apply during an impeachment hearing.  Impeachment is a purely political act, much like voting up or down on a bill or resolution.

2. The Governor does not need to be convicted of a crime to be impeached.  Some state constitutions require the same standard of “high crimes and misdemeanors”  that the U.S. Constitution places on federal office holders.  However, the state Constitution of Illinois, the law of the land of the state, does not require such a standard.  The governor does not need to do anything illegal to face impeachment.  In the state of Illinois, the state legislature could impeach the governor if they don’t like the way he blows his nose.

3. Blagojevich was also given the opportunity to help the Senate craft the rules for the Senate trial, and Blagojevich refused to participate. In the end, the Senate crafted rules that were nearly identical to the rules the United States Senate came up with for the conviction trial of President Clinton, who was later acquitted.  The rules were fair, but Blagojevich refused to help with the process, then refused to show up and defend himself, opting instead to leave the state and appear on television, only to show up and give a campaign speech at the end disguised as a closing argument for evidence he never presented.  In the end, all that matters is that Blagojevich refused to defend himself at the trial

4.  It is a flat out lie to claim that Blagojevich is not allowed to call his own witnesses.  Blagojevich had the opportunity to subpoena his own witnesses, but missed the deadline to do so. Blagojevich was also given the opportunity to help the Senate craft the rules for the Senate trial, and Blagojevich refused to participate.  There are also restrictions on calling witnesses who will be utilized during the criminal trial, but those rules apply to both Blagojevich and the impeachment prosecutors in the state Senate.

While the Governor has been removed from office, one thing is clear:  Republicans in Illinois are in a strong position to be competitive in both the Gubernatorial race and Senatorial races in 2010, and the national midterm elections will be interesting, especially if the Republican Party uses the fact that President Barack Obama campaigned hard in support of Rod Blagojevich’s re-election in 2006. It will be interesting.