Apr 26, 2008 9:12 am US/Central
Push To Impeach Blagojevich Gains Steam
State Rep. John Fritchey Fears Criminal Indictment Against Governor May Soon Come
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Gov. Rod Blagojevich (File)
CBS
A proposal to begin impeachment proceedings against Gov. Rod Blagojevich is gaining steam in the Illinois House, following blockbuster allegations that surfaced against the governor in the trial of former top fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko.
As CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports, governor says there is no truth to the job-selling allegations contained in the federal guilty plea of his former director of the Illinois Finance Authority, Ali Ata, who pleaded guilty recently to lying to the FBI about Rezko's role in getting him his state job.
Ata told a federal judge how his $25,000 contribution was placed in front the governor as Ata met with him ... and that the governor allegedly said Ata should get a job that paid good money.
Blagojevich was not named in the plea, but it was clear from references in the agreement that Public Official A was the governor.
Now, Illinois State Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago) fears the governor himself could soon face criminal indictment. Before that happens, he wants the Illinois House to form a special committee to prepare for impeachment.
"Creating a committee to decide if impeachment is warranted is such a reasonable premise that there would be overwhelming support in the House," Fritchey said.
But until there is more evidence of wrongdoing by the governor, some critics of Blagojevich oppose impeaching him, including the second-highest ranking Republican in the Illinois House, Rep. Brent Hassert (R-Romeoville).
"Somewhere down the line that might change, but right now I don't see anything that's impeachable," Hassert said.
Nothing will move forward on impeachment without the approval of House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago). Late Friday afternoon, he told Flannery: "I don't plan to create a committee for this purpose, today. Every day's a new day. If we have to ... my resolve is to do it appropriately and professionally."
Fritchey agreed the issue was one to be handled carefully.
"This should not be a witch hunt," Fritchey said. "It should be a very meticulous and cautious exercise."
If the House ever did vote to impeach, a trial would be in the State Senate, where the governor has more friends.
On Friday evening, a spokeswoman for the governor dismissed all this as designed to distract from what she called the General Assembly's lack of action on urgent issues facing Illinois.
There is one issue, though, that the Assembly seems to be poised to act upon. That is a ban on the so-called "pay to play" system that has led to this and other scandals. It would prohibit state contractors from making campaign contributions to any state government candidates.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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