Your Blago Update
Lots of action today around the pay-for-play scandal in the Land of Lincoln:
IL AG Lisa Madigan asked the IL Supreme Court to "temporarily" remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office to that the state's business can continue. Persuant to the Succession Act, she asked the court to appoint the lt. gov instead. Vid above.
"We think it is very clear he is incapable of serving," Madigan said of the governor during a news conference today in downtown Chicago. She said, "We want to make sure the people of Illinois have a governor who can legitimately fulfill the duties of that office."
Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) appeared today to temper his call for an emergency session of the General Assembly to pass legislation sanctioning a special election to fill Pres.-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat. Instead, Durbin suggested that it would be perhaps more efficient for Blagojevich to be removed from office and for Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn to be elevated to governor.
Could be several reasons for Durbin's shift in position. A special election gives the GOP an opening the party wouldn't have if an appointment is made by the Dem lt. gov. After all, voters might want to send a message to the IL Dem Party that the state's second Senate seat is not for sale. Also note that I first reported earlier this week on On Call that a special election for Obama's Senate seat could cost the state as much as $50 million, according to state Board of Elections officials. That's a staggering sum in good economic times. But with the nation on the brink of fiscal disaster it seems ever more burdensome.
Blagojevich's chief of staff, John Harris, resigned today. Harris was arrested with Blagojevich. Both were released on bond.
And finally, in as much as we're suspect about polls conducted with robocalls, we'll note that a new Rasmussen survey shows that Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. has fallen out of favor with the public since being identified as 'Senate Candidate 5' in the complaint against Blagojevich. Jackson has denied any wrongdoing or involvement in any offers to trade money for the seat, as is outlined in the document. But the survey shows that while 36 percent viewed the South Side Rep. as their choice to succeed Obama last week, only 18 percent say this week that Jackson deserves the seat. The new leader? Lisa Madigan.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
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