Blagojevich still not leaving

Gov. Rod Blagojevich ducked questions for a third day as President-elect Barack Obama and top officials grappled with clearing the pungent stench of corruption that is transfixing the public and threatening to suffocate state business after the chief executive's arrest on sweeping criminal charges.

Meanwhile, Blagojevich evidently plans to defiantly continue to go to his state office this week and perhaps even sign legislation as a rapidly growing list of politicians and organizations call for his resignation, including Obama.

Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said the governor may sign a health care measure, among other pieces of legislation. He is also moving forward with a massive borrowing plan to pay a backlog of bills owed to schools and health care providers.

"He wants to make sure that state government continues to operate," Guerrero said.

His attendance at the Thompson Center during both days after his arrest is an effort to project a sense of "normalcy," and there are plans for the governor to go to his office again today, Guerrero said.

"Obviously, he knows that there are calls out there for resignation, but I think he is also taking some time to sort things out," Guerrero said. "It's just a matter of everyone catching their breath."

Guerrero said he doesn't know when the governor will address questions about his arrest.

The health care measure Blagojevich is eyeing would mandate insurance companies provide coverage for autistic children, a popular measure the governor pushed that was passed by lawmakers a few weeks before his arrest on charges he tried to trade Obama's vacant Senate seat for a federal appointment, high-paying job or campaign cash.

The governor is also accused of trying to strong-arm campaign contributions from a highway contractor, the executive of a children's hospital and a lobbyist wanting him to sign legislation. Plus, he is accused of pressuring Chicago Tribune officials to fire editorial employees in exchange for state help with selling Wrigley Field.

Prosecutors say they caught all of it on tape - Blagojevich's own profanity-laced conversations with staffers and his wife - over the last month.

Blagojevich's attorney says the governor did nothing wrong.

In addition to Obama, every Illinois statewide officeholder, scores of state and federal lawmakers, every U.S. Senate Democrat and National Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean have all called for Blagojevich to step down.

"Let me be absolutely clear: I do not think the governor at this point can effectively serve the people of Illinois," Obama said at a Thursday news conference.

Obama questions

Meanwhile, Obama declared his transition office had "no involvement in any deal-making" related to Blagojevich's alleged scheming to trade his vacant Senate seat for a federal appointment, campaign cash or high-paying job.

And a sharp disagreement about how to move forward with filling that Senate seat broke out among lawmakers and state officials as they also debate taking up impeachment proceedings next week.

Obama took his first substantive questions on the scandal Thursday morning after presenting former Sen. Tom Daschle as his pick for secretary of health and human services - the cabinet post Blagojevich is alleged to have coveted in those secret recordings.

The Chicago Democrat headed to the White House has been under fire from critics for his lack of specifics in explaining his staff's interactions with Blagojevich over the Senate seat appointment.

Obama said Thursday federal investigators have not contacted him. He added, "We have not been interviewed by them."

"What I'm absolutely certain about is that our office had no involvement in any deal-making around my Senate seat," Obama said. "That would be a violation of everything this campaign has been about, and that is not how we do business."

Obama did not provide details on the interaction of his staff and the governor.

"What I want to do is to gather all the facts about any staff contacts that may have taken place between the transition office and the governor's office," he said. "And we will have those in the next few days and we will present them."

The criminal complaint alleges the governor is recorded saying Obama's staff wouldn't make a deal with him, which prompted Blagojevich to call the president-elect a profane term.

The Senate seat

On the state level, lawmakers and state officials started staking out opposing positions on how to move forward.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn called on lawmakers to hold off pushing for a special election.

Quinn would take over if Blagojevich is ousted or steps down. Quinn said he wants to appoint the senator and save the expense of a special election.

The pitch drew an immediate rejection from Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont, who called the plan "ludicrous." "This decision absolutely must be made by the voters of Illinois," she said.

A special election would give Republicans a shot at winning the seat.

Other lawmakers favor a special election, though U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Springfield has also endorsed an appointment if Blagojevich leaves office.

Blagojevich still technically has the power to appoint someone, but U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has threatened to not seat his pick.

Obama said Thursday he wants the seat filled in an "appropriate way," but he didn't clarify what that meant. "This Senate seat does not belong to any politician to trade," Obama said. "It belongs to the people of Illinois and they deserve the best possible representation."

Still in office

As for the governor, lawmakers debated how best to move forward with impeachment and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan again threatened to go to the state Supreme Court to force his ouster.

"I am prepared to take action," Madigan said on CNN.

Madigan says she could implement an obscure rule that lets the state's top justices remove a governor who is unable to serve. It remains unclear what standards the justices might apply.

Impeachment proceedings at the state Capitol could take weeks, if not months. It also remains unclear what evidence lawmakers could use against the governor in the proceedings, which would give Blagojevich a chance to put on his own case and question witnesses.

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