Renewed impeachment drive crashes lawmakers' Opening Day

SPRINGFIELD - Their proud families and friends were in the crowd. The local hotels booked for inaugural celebrations.

But the ethics cloud that swirls over Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the crushing economic realities that face state lawmakers quickly crashed their parties.

A new session of the Illinois General Assembly was sworn in Wednesday with a handful of new members joining the state House and Senate. Not even this traditionally ceremonial event could escape the bizarre reality that has taken hold of state politics.

At the statehouse, Blagojevich fulfilled his constitutional duty by presiding over the Senate ceremony, ushering in the very members who within weeks may vote to convict him and remove him from office.

"These are challenging times. Hard economic times face the people of Illinois. I hope we can find a way as we deal with other issues to find the truth and sort things out," the governor told senators.

Just last month, he was arrested on federal corruption charges, which triggered the impeachment push.

Simultaneously, a few miles away at the University of Illinois' Springfield campus, new Illinois House members were sworn in and quickly got down to business, reaffirming the historic impeachment vote against Blagojevich previous members took less than a week ago.

That first vote made Blagojevich the only governor in the state's more than 190-year history ever impeached. Now he's been impeached twice. It was necessary because when the previous General Assembly's session expired, so too did all its pending actions. In order to keep the impeachment case moving, another vote was needed.

It created a surreal experience. While the House was voting to impeach at the university auditorium, the niece of newly elected Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, serenaded the Senate crowd with a rendition of "A change is going to come."

The final House tally this time was 117-1. Blagojevich's sister-in-law Deb Mell, daughter of Chicago Ald. Richard Mell, voted against impeachment. Deb Mell is a newly sworn-in Democratic state representative from Chicago,

Soon after, with the governor on his way back to Chicago, the Senate initiated the impeachment trial, adopting rules and delivering a summons to the governor's Capitol office.

During the swearing-in ceremony, the governor, normally glib and prone to banter with fellow politicians at such public events, said little and was greeted with dead silence from the assembled senators and their families.

At least three senators took aim at Blagojevich during floor speeches, as the governor stood emotionless at the front of the chamber.

State Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican, talked of the state "lingering under a stubborn ethical cloud."

Others had told the Daily Herald they dreaded the event and having to explain what was going on to their children.

"I will feel embarrassed for my children," said state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican.

House and Senate members from both parties agreed daunting times lie ahead.

"There is no question there is a problem with trust in our state right now," said House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego. "Our responsibility as members of the Illinois General Assembly is to restore that trust."

In the House, Cross was elected to another term leading the political minority Republicans. Michael Madigan was re-elected as Democratic House speaker. In the Senate. Cullerton becomes the new Democratic president while Lemont Republican Christine Radogno heads the political minority Republicans, becoming the first woman in Illinois history to serve as a legislative leader.

Blagojevich's arrest and impeachment, however, is just the first of many challenges lawmakers face.

The state's cash flow is stopped up and a stack of unpaid bills totaling billions of dollars for everything from health care for children to paper towels for state office buildings is threatening the state's ability to function daily.

The current budget is millions if not billions in the red, the economy is struggling and the next budget - due by July 1 - will be even worse as dollars are scarce while spending pressures increase.

"We are in big trouble," said state Sen. John Millner, a Carol Stream Republican. "We are so far behind the eight-ball."

While impeachment dominates discussions now, expect rumors of tax increases to soon follow. Several area lawmakers predicted state income and sales tax proposals would surface this session.

Daily Herald staff writers Dan Carden and Nicole Milstead contributed to this report.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="javascript:void(window.open('http://video.ap.org/?t=By%20Section/U.S.&g=0114dv_blago_lawmakers&f=ILARL','_blank','width=788,height=598,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1'));">Raw Video: Blagojevich Presides Over Ill. Senate </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>