Illinois governor to preside in Senate that will try him

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The state Senate that will decide whether to throw impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich out of office will be sworn in today by -- who else? -- impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The governor will preside briefly over the chamber that will hold his political life in its hands in less than two weeks. The opening of a new legislative session is normally an upbeat occasion, but how the senators and the governor will respond this time is anyone's guess.

"On one hand, it's a time of great celebration here in the Senate of a new beginning and new leadership," said Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, an Evanston Democrat. "On the other hand, there will be no denying the fact that the governor's participation in the proceedings will give it a character and flavor that many members would just as soon not experience."

Blagojevich was impeached by the House on Friday, more than a month after his arrest on federal charges that he tried to sell official government action -- including an appointment to president-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat -- for campaign contributions or a plush job.

He's the state's first governor to face such censure and the first public official since a circuit judge in 1833 was impeached but acquitted. The Senate's trial is scheduled to start Jan. 26.

Nobody is certain how that will affect today's proceedings.

The state constitution requires that the governor convene incoming Senates and preside until their members elect a leader. In this case, president Emil Jones of Chicago is retiring and Democrats have chosen John Cullerton of Chicago to lead the chamber's majority.

The full membership must endorse Cullerton, and Blagojevich will be invited into the chamber to preside until then.

"The applause, which is traditionally kind of thunderous, will be very subdued," said Sen. Christine Radogno of Lemont, who expects to become the Republican leader. "It will be out of respect for the office, certainly not out of respect for the individual."

Some in the capital speculated that Blagojevich could refuse to lower the gavel on the new session -- no Senate convened, no impeachment trial, the thinking went.

But as unpredictable as Blagojevich can be, with the Senate proceeding looming, a coming federal indictment and possible criminal trial, he's also tried to show he's still in control as chief executive.

"The governor sees the swearing-in as his duty and obligation," spokesman Lucio Guerrero said. "It's part of his constitutional duties and he will carry them out."

Incoming president Cullerton says he hopes to move quickly with the trial and finish by Feb. 4.

"You don't want to have the cloud of an impeachment trial hanging over the normal, regular legislative session," Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, said. "Legislators are concerned who's the governor going to be, who's going to sign a bill. The governor's concerned about whether he's going to be removed from office."

The House announced Tuesday that David Ellis, chief attorney to Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, will prosecute the Blagojevich case before the Senate.

"We're not looking for a circus. We're not looking for surprises. I'm not hiding my evidence," Ellis said. "I think it's clear what we think."

Jones, leaving the Senate after 36 years in the General Assembly, has been Blagojevich's closest political ally, and has often sided with the governor over House Democrats, blocking progress on several issues. Jones called the allegations against Blagojevich "shocking."

"It's an unfortunate situation we find ourselves in," Jones said. "Lawmakers are in a very, very difficult position but I trust that whatever is done is done fair and because whatever they do here is going to have a tremendous impact on any future governor or any future General Assembly."