Blagojevich: AG Bats, Alley Rats And Other Political Cats

by: Foiled Goil

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan asked the state Supreme Court today to declare Governor Rod Blagojevich "unable to service," setting in motion a process that could force him out of office by the end of the day. A spokesman for the Governor told ABC News that Blagojevich has no plans to resign, "at least today."

The nature and severity of the allegations" in the federal complaint should force the court to "stop the Governor from performing his duties," said Madigan. She said the court should allow Lt. Governor Patrick Quinn to temporarily assume the Governor's duties, under a state law that has never been used.

The attorney general said the court, at the very least, should prevent Blagojevich from filling the U.S. Senate seat he is accused of trying to sell to the highest bidder.

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The Illinois attorney general today asked the state's top judges to strip Gov. Rod Blagojevich of any government powers, saying corruption charges make it impossible for him to serve.

At a televised news conference, Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan said her office had asked the state Supreme Court to grant a temporary restraining order, the first step in a lawsuit. She said the court cannot remove Blagojevich from office, which requires action by the Legislature, but it can decide that he is unable to serve and that the lieutenant governor should exercise the powers of the state's chief executive.

"The impeachment process will take time," she told reporters. "In the interim, state government is paralyzed by a governor who is incapable of governing.

"The Illinois Constitution gives the Illinois Supreme Court the ability to determine whether the governor has the ability to serve," she argued.

It was unclear when the court would issue a ruling on Madigan's request, but she said she hoped it would be within five to 10 days. The state Legislature is scheduled to meet next week, but impeachment proceedings could take weeks.

"The pervasive nature and severity of these pending charges disable Mr. Blagojevich from making effective decisions on critical, time-sensitive issues," the attorney general's office argued in its pleadings. At the news conference, Madigan cited such issues as state borrowing that could be hampered by the charges against the governor.

Earlier this week, John White, the Chicago Sun-Times Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, shot a picture of the governor ducking out of his Ravenswood Manor home and into a black SUV driven by his bodyguards to avoid passing through a news media gauntlet.

The photo showed Blagojevich next to a city sign that said, "Warning" and "Target Rats" with a picture of a rat inside a red bulls-eye.

The delicious irony of an alleged political rat being photographed next to the warning sign about actual rats was apparently not lost on the governor, his family or staff. [snip]

The problem is, the sign was posted for safety reasons. It states: "This block has been safely baited where needed as of 10/6/08 "Rat bait has been buried where rats can find it, but where it's unlikely to be found by children and pets. If you do suspect that the bait has been ingested by person or pet, immediately contact your physician or the poison control center."

The President-elect's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said today he won't go to the Chicago Presidential transition offices in order to avoid reporters seeking to ask him whether he had contact with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich about the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama's election.

Emanuel appeared "beet-red," according to an ABC News cameraman who was invited inside by Emmanuel to use his bathroom this morning.

"I'm getting regular death threats. You've put my home address on national television. I'm pissed at the networks. You've intruded too much, " Emanuel said, according to the cameraman.

Emanuel has refused to comment as to whether he is the un-named Presidential advisor cited in the FBI affidavit filed in the Blagojevich case.

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Blagojevich · Scandal