Really ANY of the above would work as long as you add that he must take his terrible hair with him.
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I think that he needs to be declared unfit, arrested, and have his pension taken away. What he did is no less than what the former governor Ryan did. The only difference is that his actions hasn't been linked directly to the death of 6 kids.
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Given the current state of the economy and politics in general I think the question should be what would result in the highest amount of faith from the people in Illinois. My guess is that a special election would be the best way for people to choose a successor without the fear that one is being thrust upon them by the government.
Other than that I would fight for criminal penalties rather than being declared unfit or being impeached, neither of which mean a lot to the average citizen.
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I think the correct course of action, if he is unwilling to step down, is to begin impeachment proceedings. A person in this country is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, so I don't personally believe that it is proper for a court to remove him from office before he has been convicted of anything. Convene impeachment hearings, allow both sides to present evidence, and let the elected representatives decide.
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Since Blagojevich will more than likely be found guilty of criminal corruption, he should be declared unfit and removed from office (it's hard to govern from a jail cell). A special election should be called for his vacancy as I see no other way to "elect" another governor.
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If he is guilty, be declared unfit. The media sometime make it impossible to get at the truth. Who revealed the misdeed? Is the accusser above reproach? What was the accusser's agenda? I have many questions before I can say "OFF WITH HIS HEAD". I need clear concise info to give an answer, not media hype. "What has he admitted?"
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I think he should be impeached. His obvious disregard for the position should be exploited and should be barred from ever serving in office again. I dont think he should be declaired unfit under the Illinois regulation that he is "unhealthy" for office since that would not bring justice to what he has done. Impeachment is the only way to ensure the the proper action is taken.
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What happened to the presumption of innocence? Let the man have his day in court, an impeachment hearing would be inherently a political event with very little chance of reaching an unbiased decision. The elected reps have a vested interest in making this go away in any way possible.
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Well, Blagojevich is apparently hanging on to perhaps use his seat as a bargaining chip to reduce his sentence.

In the mean-time, if any legislation is introduced there is the threat that he could veto it, since he still is the governor and maintains his veto rights.

I think it's a somewhat dangerous precedent to set in general for the Attorney General to demand impeachment proceedings from the Supreme Court though it seems prima facie like a rational course of action.

On the other hand, I think the most important thing is to ensure he cannot actually assign someone the "million dollar" senate seat. This would suggest he be impeached or declared unfit.

My feeling is in line with my first comment, after discussing the matter with his legal counsel, he is going to try to cut a deal with the state and do everything in his power to reduce the potential sentence he is facing.

So the answer is not so clear cut -- he should definitely be prevented from enacting legislation that would either empower him or his attempt to hold onto power. But at the same time, there isn't a whole lot that can be done in my opinion, without setting dangerous precedents, to wrestle that power away from him. Impeachment would take too long, and he would probably already have stepped down after making a deal. Being declared unfit, if it could be done quickly and decisively might be the best bet.
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It's definitely possible for all of those things to happen. In fact, all of them need to happen as part of the complex process that is getting him out of office. First, the Illinois Supreme Court has to declare him unfit and that is currently under consideration after the state attorney submitted a request for him to be declared unfit. Declaring him unfit would temporarily put the Lt. Governor in power until the next course of action is determined.The state legislature can decide if they want to submit the articles of impeachment, which could lead to criminal proceedings against the governor. The state legislature along with input from the state election board also determine the need and feasibility of having a special election, which are historically very expensive.
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1) He should not be declared unfit because that would be, well, border-line illegal. The clause in the IL constitution is meant to apply towards physical disability. Blagojevich has none to speak of. Nor does he have a mental disability. He has a disturbing unwillingness to govern properly and lawfully, but that is entirely his choice and not because of some handicap.
2) He should indeed be impeached, but as that process is, and should remain a lengthy one, that would not preclude a special election in the mean time. Of course the legal aspect of a special election needs to be considered as well. It is not clear that the legislator has the power to strip the governor of powers accorded to him by constitution. It may very well require a constitutional amendment calling for a one-time special election.
3) Thus, assuming that he cannot be pressured to leave office (which is quite a hefty assumption), the impeachment process should begin as soon as possible. The other two options must be considered, but will set dangerous precedents regarding separation of power, and should therefore be used only as a last resort (if he does not resign or impeachment does not proceed).
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I feel we should have a special election like it was done in California. Have the House of Representatives enact a law for a special election. Since we have both the democratic and republican parties favoring for the removal of Gov. Blagojevich, as well as the citizens of Illinois. This should be only a matter of time.
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It all depends on what is found on the tapes. In this country one is still presumed innocent. Even if there were converstations regarding political favors, that is not grounds for impeachment. However his breach of charactrer is reason to declare him unfit to govern, and secondarily the cost of impeachment is much more than if he was declared unfit.
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Well personally i think he should resign, i think him being declared unfit sets kinda a dangerous president, it would allow attorney generals in the future to try and remove governors they did not like. I guess if i had to pick one of then 3 listed i would have to go with Impeachment.
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I think he won't resign yet, because he's trying to figure out who he can ally with to make sure he can pardon himself, when criminal charges are filed.

I do think he will resign once he gets his ducks in a row.

If he doesn't resign, then have the Illinois Supreme Court declare him unfit to fix a pot of coffee, let the Lt. Governor step in for the rest of the term, because that's one of his responsibilities.

Then make an example of the soon-to-be ex-governor with the 80's haircut. Lock him in prison, along with the NASDAQ guy who bilked investors out of $50 billion, and throw away the key.

Maybe not forever, but at least for a decade, so the American people have time to calm down and heal from the pain of all this scandle.
Source(s):
My brain.

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He should definitely be impeached. There are simply no bones about it - bribery is a crime, and elected officials who commit crimes get impeached.
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Well, weighing the options a special election is not a very good idea, as there was not going to be a new govenor to begin with, and it is why the liutennant govenor exists. Plus all of the costs and logistical implications of such. I don't think that it really works to declare him unfit, because it is not so much an issue of being able to govern. Therefore, I am a proponent of impeaching him as it best fits the situation.
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This man should be impeached immediately. He is extremely corrupt and the citizens of Illinois have had to deal with his corruption for almost 7 years. He is holding on to power for as long as he can. The problem is that even if he is impeached, the corruption will continue because his administration will continue and the Democratic Party will continue to hold power in the Governor's office. His entire administration should be fired because generally they are corrupt. Cook County(Chicago) has unofficially been renamed "Crook County" because it has an epidemic of corruption. He has ties to Obama so he should be questioned also. There should be a special election because the Republican party needs to step up and take this entire corrupt administration down. We have had corruption since George Ryan was in office and it is time for it to end.
Source(s):
Staying informed about politics

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