Impeachment years in the making

Ed Genson, Gov. Rod Blagojevich's lawyer, called the impeachment hearings against his client a "witch hunt." He told legislators they were engaging in a "rush to judgment."

Certainly, the swirling vortex has not subsided since the feds announced last week they had rousted the governor from his bed and charged him with engaging in a host of corrupt schemes.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald accused Blagojevich of scheming to sell a U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, of shaking down tollway contractors, racetrack lobbyists and media and hospital executives in return for campaign contributions or other significant support.

Genson may be right to an extent. The criminal complaint in the case likely has cemented opinions about the governor for many, many Illinois residents. The allegations are so outrageous, extreme and easy to grasp, fairness will be a challenge for jurors and legislators.

The state constitution that governs impeachment does not offer much guidance for those pursuing it now. So little, in fact, that fairness and due process are not specifically required.

Still, we fully expect there should be evidence the governor abused his power before charges are sent to the Illinois Senate and an impeachment trial set. Such principles are at the heart of the rule of law in this state and nation.

And even if the federal wiretaps of the governor's conversations are found to be illegal, as Genson also has asserted, and inadmissible in any criminal proceedings, that does not mean they cannot be weighed in the impeachment hearings. Again, the impeachment process is not bound by courtroom rules.

Still, if the recordings cannot be used as evidence in federal court and if the House impeachment committee members have to ignore them because Fitzgerald is unlikely to hand them over for their use before his own in a criminal case, it is important now to note there is no shortage of other suspicious activity tied to the governor the House committee can and should explore.

The years of probes and investigations that came before are less salacious and more complicated, but there is plenty there.

A 2005 Daily Herald investigation revealed more than 80 percent of construction and engineering firms with tollway contracts also were Blagojevich campaign donors. Chicago media investigations have shown people who contributed a certain amount to the governor's campaign fund often got state jobs. Tony Rezko, a top fundraiser for the governor, has been convicted of orchestrating a kickback scheme. Stuart Levine, a former member of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, was convicted of extortion. Ali Ata, appointed by Blagojevich as head of the Illinois Finance Authority, pleaded guilty to obstructing justice. Republican William Cellini is charged with shaking down donations for Blagojevich.

The list is long and dates back years. A rush to judgment? The better question might very well be what were the majority of voters thinking when they re-elected this governor?