Ill. governor's arrest raises serious questions

[December 11, 2008]  SPRINGFIELD (AP) -- In a scene bizarre even by Illinois standards, Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested by FBI agents and led out of his home in handcuffs, charged with government corruption. The arrest raises plenty of questions:

Q: The governor was arrested and charged with federal crimes. Does that mean he's no longer governor?

A: No. Blagojevich has only been accused, not convicted, so he remains the governor.

Q: Will he serve the rest of his term?

A: That depends. He could leave early by resigning or he could be tossed out of office through impeachment. He would also lose his job if convicted on the federal corruption charges.

Q: Who decides whether he is impeached?

A: The Illinois House would decide whether to go forward with articles of impeachment. The state Senate would then try the case and decide whether he should be thrown out of office. The process could take two or three months.

Q: If he leaves office, who becomes governor?

A: Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn. Like Blagojevich, he's a Chicago Democrat, but the two have feuded and are not close.

Q: Does Blagojevich still get to choose Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate?

A: For now, yes. But Illinois lawmakers plan to meet next week and take that power away from him. Instead, the replacement would be chosen by special election. Of course, Blagojevich could veto the legislation to remove his appointment power.

Q: How can they take away his power to fill vacant Senate seats?

A: It's just a matter of writing a new law. A governor's power to fill vacancies is granted by Illinois election law, not the Constitution.

Q: What happens if Blagojevich makes an appointment before legislators change the law?

A: U.S. senators say they might refuse to seat his appointee. And it's possible that Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White could refuse to certify the governor's action, a step that's required before decisions are officially recorded.

Q: Who will run state agencies and draft a budget and do all the other things a governor does?

A: Blagojevich will continue doing it. He still has the power to tell his agencies what to do and to sign or veto legislation. Lawmakers can do a lot of work without including the governor, but they can't ignore him entirely.

[Associated Press; By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]

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