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The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly on Friday in launching a political trial by Governor Rod Blagojevich, an unprecedented step in this state.

The state Senate must try to decide whether Blagojevich should be impeached for corruption and abuse of power when trying to sell to the highest bidder the federal bench vacated Senate President-elect Barack Obama.


The governor responded with the defiant stance he has maintained since a month ago, when he was arrested on federal charges. He accused the state legislature to retaliate against him for trying to help the people of Illinois and hoped it would be "duly acquitted" for a trial before the Senate.

"The cause of the impeachment is that I have fought for the families and have done things for them," said Blagojevich, who gave a press conference in Chicago accompanied by several beneficiaries of its health programs.


Blagojevic added that the decision of the lower house is not surprising because it has been immersed in a dispute with lawmakers since he was reelected in 2006. The reason for the dispute, according to the governor, is that the camera has resisted his efforts to help people, instead of resisting "the lobby groups and those with particular interests."

The governor closed the conference by quoting the poem "Ulysses" by Alfred Tennyson, who said: "To strive, to seek, find and not to yield."


Earlier, Blagojevich was exercised running in your neighborhood in Chicago while the camera gave their vote. To stand trial were politically necessary 60 votes. The final result was 114-1.

The legislators accused the Democratic governor, in his second term, of betraying the people of Illinois to allow their ambition and self guide their decisions.


"It is our duty to clean this issue and stop the outlandish spectacle that has become the government of Illinois," said Democratic Representative Jack Franks.

Governor Blagojevich is the first contested in the political history of Illinois, long and often sordid. It could be just the eighth U.S. governor to be removed by impeachment. The last was Evan Mecham of Arizona in 1988.


Blagojevich was arrested on December 9 on federal charges that included an affidavit from an FBI agent who described the content of the wiretaps, which Blagojevich allegedly bragged it could get for the Senate seat vacated Obama, and also talked about how to pressure people to provide funds for his election campaign and other activities.

Meanwhile, the politician chosen by the governor to fill the Senate seat Obama received good news on Friday.


The Supreme Court of Illinois said the state secretary of State, Jesse White, do not need to sign the appointment of Roland Burris for the U.S. Senate that the appointment is valid. The ruling stressed that no official from Illinois should take any further step to validate the appointment by Blagojevich.

Burris, former Illinois secretary of justice, faces no charges. But this week was denied access to the swearing in of a seat in part because the Democratic leadership insisted that their accreditation papers were incomplete without the signing of White. The Supreme Court clarified that nothing in state law requires that signs the White nomination.


On Friday, Burris said he hopes soon to take his seat.

But Sen. Dick Durbin federal Burris insisted that it will not be accepted without the signature of White, who refuses to do so because of the charges against Blagojevich.


Durbin said that if White did not change his mind on the signature, the Senate will wait to see if Blagojevich was removed after the impeachment.