Governor Rod Blagojevich was impeached on Friday by Illinois lawmakers furious that he turned the state government into a “freak show,” setting the stage for an unprecedented trial in the state Senate that could get him thrown out of office.
The 114-1 vote in the Illinois House came exactly a month after Blagojevich’s arrest on charges that included trying to sell US president-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat. The debate took less than 90 minutes and not a single legislator rose in defense of the governor, who was jogging in the snow in Chicago.
Later, a defiant Blagojevich insisted again that he committed no crime, and said: “I’m going to fight every step of the way.”
He portrayed himself as a victim of political payback by the House for his efforts to extend healthcare and other relief to ordinary people.
“The causes of the impeachment are because I’ve done things to fight for families,” the 52-year-old Democrat said at a press conference where he surrounded himself with people that spokesman Lucio Guerrero said had benefited from the state’s expanded healthcare program, including a man in a wheelchair and a kidney transplant recipient.
He took no questions.
Blagojevich becomes the first US governor in more than 20 years to be impeached. Arizona’s Evan Mecham was impeached, convicted and removed from office in 1988 for trying to thwart an investigation into a death threat allegedly made by an aide.
No other Illinois governor has ever been impeached, despite the state’s storied history of graft. Blagojevich’s immediate predecessor, George Ryan, is behind bars for corruption and two earlier governors also went to prison.
The Senate trial is set to begin on Jan. 26. While impeachment in the House required only a simple majority, or 60 votes, a two-thirds vote would be needed for conviction in the 59-member Senate.
After his arrest on Dec. 9, Blagojevich defied practically the entire political establishment by appointing someone to the Senate, former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris. That provoked a furor as state and federal officials struggled over whether to seat Burris.
On Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Burris’ paperwork was valid and that the Illinois secretary of state did not have to sign his appointment.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (南化) 1,833mm, according to CWA data. Meanwhile, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County saw 1,688mm of accumulated rain and Yunlin County’s Caoling (草嶺) had 1,025mm. The Pingtung County Government said that 831 local residents have been pre-emptively evacuated from mountainous areas. A total of 576 are staying with relatives in low-lying areas, while the other 255 are in shelters. CWA forecaster
RSS