Ill. legislature plans busy week

Senate election, impeachment, credit rating all concerns

[December 13, 2008]  General Assembly returns to deal with scandal -- Lawmakers will be back in the state Capitol on Monday and Tuesday to begin dealing with the corruption scandal encircling Gov. Blagojevich and his inner circle.

The House and Senate are scheduled to take up legislation implementing a special election to let Illinois voters determine who will replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.

Lawmakers from both political parties are voicing their opinions that any appointed senator would be tainted and enter office under a cloud.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin went on record shortly after the governor's arrest to say he believed Illinois' next senator should be elected by the voters, urging lawmakers to "enact a law as quickly as possible calling for a special election."

Informational site available on impeachment

In response to numerous inquiries, the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus has launched an informational site, www.impeachment.senategop.net, on the impeachment process. The site details the history of impeachment in Illinois, provides background on the procedures and constitutional provisions, and outlines the current situation in Illinois.

Impeachment is often confused with removing an individual from public office. In fact, impeachment is only the first of a two-step process and refers only to a legal statement of charges against an officeholder. It is similar to an indictment in criminal cases. An officeholder who has been impeached must then be tried and convicted before he or she is removed from office.

In Illinois, the impeachment process is modeled after the procedures in the U.S. Constitution, which gives lawmakers wide discretion in determining what is an impeachable offense. The new site even contains the Senate's rules for an 1833 impeachment trial -- the only known impeachment trial in Illinois history.

Illinois' credit rating could be downgraded thanks to governor's woes

The governor's legal troubles are also spelling trouble for Illinois' fiscal health. The credit rating agency Standard & Poor's is threatening to downgrade the state's general bond obligation rating, citing the "legal troubles now facing the governor and his chief of staff."

The potential downgrade has led the state to postpone a $1.4 billion short-term borrowing plan aimed at boosting the state's cash flow and reducing the current $4 billion backlog in unpaid bills.

Comptroller Dan Hynes said the move is just another example of how the governor's corruption scandal is hampering the work of government. "From my standpoint, it's just another example of the disruption and damage being caused financially to the state because of the tenuous nature of the governor's position," he said.

[Text from file received from Illinois Senate Republicans; LDN staff]