The Illinois House of Representatives might vote as soon as this week to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich after his arrest on accusations he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
House Speaker Michael Madigan told legislators Friday to convene in the state capital of Springfield by Wednesday, according to an e-mail from his office. The 118-member House would vote on any recommendation from an impeachment panel created after the Dec. 9 arrest of Blagojevich, who has resisted calls to resign.
State officials sped up efforts to remove Blagojevich after he named Roland Burris, a former Democratic state attorney general, to the Senate seat. A vote to impeach by the full House would be followed by a trial in the Illinois Senate to decide whether to remove Blagojevich, 52, from office. State senators plan to meet Monday in Chicago to establish rules and procedures for such a proceeding. Bloomberg News Service
