Ill. Legislator: We Could Impeach Blago in Weeks

The chairman of the Illinois House Judiciary Committee said that state lawmakers could impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) in a few weeks to keep him from appointing a U.S. senator.

“It’s tough to say with any certainty, but I would say that I think an impeachment proceeding could be done properly and fairly in a matter of weeks rather than months,” said state Rep. John Fritchey (D) on MSNBC Thursday. “You have to recognize that this is not an issue of import just to the people of the state of Illinois but to the entire country because we have an inability right now to properly seat a United States Senate vacancy, therefore depriving not just the people of Illinoisans of their representation but the entire country of having a fully constituted U.S. Senate.”

Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges that he tried to sell the open Senate seat formerly held by President-elect Obama.

Fritchey, echoing Democrats across the country, said it would be best for for Blagojevich to resign.

“The man is potentially looking at upwards of 30 years of jail time,” Fritchey told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “I think that his priority should be on defending himself from these charges or attempting to defend himself, taking care of himself and his family and letting the people of Illinois go on with taking care of our business.”

For the legislators to impeach the governor, they would have to show that he has an “inability to perform the duties of his office,” Fritchey said.

“And there’s been some belief to that for a couple of years now actually, and that he has committed official misconduct as a result of the allegations brought forth by the U.S. attorney,” Fritchey added.