Blagojevich becomes first U.S. governor impeached in more than 20 years

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. Rod Blagojevich was bounced from office Thursday without a single lawmaker rising in his defense, ending a nearly two-month crisis that erupted with his arrest on charges stating he tried to sell Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat.

Blagojevich becomes the first U.S. governor in more than 20 years to be removed by impeachment.

After a four-day trial, the Illinois Senate voted 59-0 to convict him of abuse of power, automatically ousting the second-term Democrat. In a second, identical vote, lawmakers further barred Blagojevich from ever holding public office in the state again.

“He failed the test of character,” said Sen. Matt Murphy, a Republican from suburban Chicago. “He is beneath the dignity of the state of Illinois. He is no longer worthy to be our governor.”

Democratic Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn, one of Blagojevich’s critics, was promptly sworn in as governor.

Blagojevich’s troubles are not over. Federal prosecutors are drawing up an indictment against him on corruption charges.

Blagojevich, 52, had boycotted the first three days of the impeachment trial, calling the proceedings a kangaroo court. But on Thursday, he went before the Senate to beg for his job, delivering a 47-minute plea that was, by turns, defiant, humble and sentimental.

He argued, again, that he did nothing wrong, and warned that his impeachment would set a “dangerous and chilling precedent.”

“You haven’t proved a crime, and you can’t because it didn’t happen,” Blagojevich told the lawmakers. “How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?”

The verdict brought to an end what one lawmaker branded “the freak show” in Illinois. Over the past few weeks, Blagojevich found himself isolated, with almost the entire political establishment lined up against him. The furor paralyzed state government and made Blagojevich and his helmet of lush, dark hair a punchline from coast to coast.

Many ordinary Illinoisans were glad to see him go.

“It’s very embarrassing. I think it’s a shame that with our city and Illinois, everybody thinks we’re all corrupt,” Gene Ciepierski, 54, said after watching the trial’s conclusion on a TV at Chicago’s beloved Billy Goat Tavern. “To think he would do something like that, it hurts more than anything.”

In a solemn scene, more than 30 lawmakers rose one by one on the Senate floor to accuse Blagojevich of abusing his office and embarrassing the state. They denounced him as a hypocrite, saying he cynically tried to enrich himself and then posed as the brave protector of the poor and “wrapped himself in the constitution.”