12/12/2008

Let's Get Him Out of My Way!


Fox News is reporting that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has now filed a petition with the Illinois Supreme Court asking them to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich because he is "unable to serve". No one wants to see Gov. Blagojevich out of office more than I do. As I've mentioned before, I am friends with one of the prosecutors and she and I have joked for years about when she was going to get him.

That being said, the Attorney General's actions usurp the constitutional authority of the Illinois General Assembly. Section 14 of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution says, "The House of Representatives has the sole power to conduct legislative investigations to determine the existence of cause for impeachment and, by the vote of a majority of the members elected, to impeach Executive and Judicial officers." By invoking an obscure Illinois Supreme Court rule, Rule 382, the Attorney General is disregarding the express constitutional authority of the legislature. Rule 382 was meant to be invoke in the event of a medical disability.

The fact that the Governor is still in office is more than troubling. He should resign immediately. However, Illinois' 38 year old constitution provides the mechanism for removing a governor gone bad. We do not need the judgement of one woman (who, by the way, is totally unqualified to hold the office to which she was elected) substituted for the judgement of the entire state legislature. If the constitution were ambiguous, I might applaud Madigan's actions. However, there is no ambiguity. It is of no benefit to the citizens of Illinois if their other elected officials start acting outside the bounds of the law.

Also, keep in mind that Attorney General Madigan is not a disinterested party on a personal level. She and her father, Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, have long been eyeing the governor's office for Lisa. Rod Blagojevich has been Lisa and Mike Madigan's main rival in statewide politics for the past 6 years. This is their chance to remove him once and for all. As the state's top law enforcement officer, the Attorney General should let the laws of the state play out and not behave in a way that suits the personal ambitions of her and her father.
UPDATE: The Illinois Supreme Court has refused to hear Attorney General Lisa Madigan's petition to have the Governor removed because he is "unable to serve".

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Let's face it, this is Illinois, the Land of Corruption. This has been a way of life for about a century. Pay to play is happening as I write this at ALL levels of Illinois government. Let's stop talking about it and DO something about it!