Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich may not be able to get payday loans pretty soon, though he may end up needing them. The controversial Democrat has been the subject of a great deal of news coverage lately, following his arrest and arraignment on federal corruption charges. Numerous calls for his resignation have been made, including President Elect Barack Obama, which have been ignored. The Illinois state congress wasn’t content to wait, and began an investigative inquiry as to whether it would be advisable to impeach Blagojevich.
Blagojevich impeached by Illinois Senate
The Illinois House of Representatives voted yesterday to impeach Blagojevich, and the measure passed 114 – 1. Typically, impeachment proceedings against governors, or presidents for that matter, are typically incredibly close, within a few votes of passing or failing. Illinois has never before impeached a governor, but this one has been by virtual unanimity. The Illinois House requires only 60 votes – clear majority – for an impeachment, but this one cleared that hurdle with impunity. He may not even be able to apply for payday loans if he needs one, because he won’t have a payday in any sense of the word if he gets removed from office – which seems likely at this point.
Gov. Blagojevich has barely responded to the charges at all, only making statements that he is innocent, and has not made a statement about the impeachment. Instead, he stated to reporters that he will “see you at 2,” indicating that he will be issuing a statement at 2 p.m. (central time) Then he went for a jog. House Representatives have been increasingly frustrated with the governor on both sides of the aisle, and after an inquiry committee voted unanimously that impeachment was the best course of action, the House put the motion before the floor for a vote.
The Impeachment History of United States
Impeachment is a measure of last resort in any US legislative body to curb the activities of an obviously unhinged official – it has been employed only 18 times in United States history at both state and federal levels. The last was Bill Clinton, in 1998, and Blagojevich has the dubious honor of being the first governor impeached in the United States.
These are his odds:
Of all impeached officials, 7 have been removed from office. (7/18 = 39% chance of removal.)
7 have been acquitted, one after resigning. (39% chance of acquittal.)
3 have resigned, and of all officials impeached, only 1 impeachment was dismissed; source here.
(1/18 = 12.5% chance of dismissal of charges.)
Worse than Nixon
Illinois lawmakers have voiced their disgust and outrage in the news 
repeatedly, voicing their distaste for both his actions and reaction to what is easily one of the biggest political scandals since Watergate, saying that his arrest and then lack of reaction to it are making the government of Illinois into a joke, laughing stock of the world. House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie said that “his silence in this great matter is deafening.” His credibility is virtually nonexistent, and there is no one who wishes for Rod Blagojevich to remain in office except Mr. Blagojevich himself. If your budget has come under impeachment by a sudden expense, get the counsel of payday loans to censure the offending shortfall.
