History was made Jan. 9 as embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich became the first person in his post to be impeached ( formally charged with misconduct ) by the State House. The vote, which was in favor of the governor's impeachment by a vote of 114-1, directs the Illinois Senate to put Blagojevich on trial—with the goal of removing him from office.
Later that day, Windy City Times spoke with State Rep. Greg Harris, one of the politicians who voted for Blagojevich's impeachment. Harris talked about various aspects of the vote and what he thought of the governor's press conference that took place earlier that afternoon. ( During the press conference, Blagojevich said that he was not surprised by the impeachment—not because of the allegations, but because of ongoing friction between him and the House. )
Windy City Times: I just want to make sure I understand this from a technical perspective: So now it's all in the Senate's hands, correct?
Greg Harris: Right, but there are a number of steps. We voted to create an investigative committee to look into the circumstances surrounding the accusations toward the governor. They can determine if, in their mind, there was evidence there for impeachment, to gather that evidence and then make a recommendation to the full House, which they did [ Jan. 8 ] . Today, the House impeached the governor by a vote of 114-1.
Impeachment is akin to an indictment in this case, so it now goes to the Senate, and then there will be a full trial.
WCT: Were you surprised the vote wasn't unanimous?
GH: [ Pauses. ] I don't know if anyone knew what to expect; it's the first time this has happened in the history of the state. Everyone voted their conscience.
WCT: How difficult was it for you to vote to impeach the governor? What was that whole process like for you?
GH: There were certainly any number of allegations—dozens of pages in the investigative committee's report. What really stood out to me were the [ alleged ] attempts to extort money from Children's Memorial Hospital; [ or ] attempts to extort the Chicago Tribune, [ offering ] financial assistance if they would fire different editors he didn't like or agree with. And then there was the whole thing with the intercepted wiretaps where he tried to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat.
Those three things seem to be criminal activities, but there were other things that, while they weren't criminal, certainly threaten the financial welfare of the state— [ such as ] these programs and expenditures of state money without approval, where the legislature has voted to restrict the ability of the government to spend money in these ways, and the governor went ahead and spent taxpayer money, anyway. That ran into millions and millions of dollars, which—given our financial situation—we can certainly use.
WCT: What were your impressions of Blagojevich's press conference?
GH: I would say that he has a vastly different perception of what is going on around him than I think the rest of the people in Illinois do. Whether you agree with the impeachment or you don't, I would say that—given what's happened in the last month, culminating with today—things put the governor in a very bad situation. And for him to get up and say that "it's business as usual" makes you wonder if he's paying attention or if he's listening to the same stuff we are.
And the people of Illinois are put in a bad position. We cannot pay our bills, it's costing us another $20 million to borrow money to pay healthcare costs because of his legal situation; the state's bond rating has been downgraded—and we'll suffer for years because of the situation. He doesn't seem to grasp that he has a part in this.
WCT: Also, just to clarify: Even during the time the governor's on trial, he will still retain his power, correct?
GH: Yes, he is still the governor until the Senate votes to convict him on impeachment charges.
WCT: And the new session of the House won't take part in the proceedings?
GH: Well, they're sworn in [ Jan. 14 ] . But the lawyers are advising that when this General Assembly ends—the 95th General Assembly— [ Jan. 13 ] and the 96th is sworn in, one of the very first acts we'll do is to re-vote the impeachment of the governor so that is legally live in the General Assembly. Everyone who is newly elected will have to make the same decision that we already have.
WCT: Is there anything you wanted to add?
GH: There are so many other pressing problems that we could and probably should be addressing now, that a lot of us are just heartsick that this is what we are forced to do—because of the actions of this one man. And he does not even get the fact that he has any part in this. He's never said, "OK. I understand how you might've felt about some of the actions I've taken." He [ seems ] to [ think ] that it's just Happy Days Are Here Again for him.