Blagojevich Impeached

Finally.

The Illinois House of Representatives impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich for abuses of power after federal prosecutors accused him of trying to auction President- elect Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat.

The House voted 114-1 today to remove Blagojevich for violations of the state constitution such as creating health- care programs unauthorized by the Legislature and rewarding campaign contributors with jobs and contracts. Blagojevich now faces a trial in the Senate of the fifth-most-populous U.S. state.

Blagojevich, 52, is the first governor impeached in Illinois’s 191-year history. A 67-page report underpinning today’s vote said the governor should be removed for “scheming to obtain a personal benefit for the Senate appointment” and engaging in “abuse of office of the highest magnitude.”

“This is a good, glad happy day for the state of Illinois because it shows that no one is above the law,” said state Representative William Black, the deputy leader of Republicans in the House.

Blagojevich, a former prosecutor twice elected to the state’s top office, is the fourth of the past seven Illinois governors to be arrested. His predecessor, Republican George Ryan, is serving 6 1/2 years in a federal prison for corruption.

Now they'll have to spend millions of dollars taking his name off of the toll road signs. Yipee.