Illinois impeachment moves closer

CHICAGO — Illinois lawmakers will be called back into session next week, earlier than expected, in an effort to expedite impeachment proceedings against Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, and, ultimately, some said, to prevent the embattled governor's appointee from becoming the state's next U.S. senator.

In a letter to representatives, Michael J. Madigan, the powerful Democratic speaker of the Illinois House, said that the chamber might very well be asked as early as next week to vote on an impeachment committee's findings against Blagojevich, a Democrat who is charged with corruption and accused of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

In Washington, meanwhile, senior Democratic officials say the leadership remains determined to prevent Roland W. Burris, a former Democratic state attorney general, from joining the Senate because he was appointed by Blagojevich. Burris is expected to try to take a seat when the 111th Congress convenes Tuesday.

"This isn't about Roland Burris," said Joe Shoemaker, chief spokesman for Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., the No.2 Democrat in the Senate. "This is about whether the governor of the state, who has been accused of trying to sell the Senate seat, made the appointment in an honest, fair and legal way."

Some highly placed Democrats have begun to question privately why Burris is being denied the seat if there are no problems with him personally. They said Democrats could dispose of the issue — and gain a reliable Democratic vote in the process — by acceding to the appointment if it meets all legal requirements.

But the Senate's leadership remains united in barring the chamber to Burris, and hopes to delay settling the matter until the Illinois Legislature can impeach the governor and allow a new appointment to be made.

Blagojevich on Friday seemed to try to raise questions about the motives of Senate leaders' efforts to block Burris from taking his seat, disclosing for the first time information that Sen. Harry Reid, the majority leader, had — before Blagojevich's arrest on Dec. 9 — called the governor to talk about whom he was considering appointing to fill Obama's seat.

Lucio Guerrero, a spokesman for Blagojevich, said that Reid called on Dec. 3 to discuss possible appointees, and expressed concerns that some being considered might not be able to win re-election when Obama's Senate term ended in two years.

Burris was never mentioned in the conversation, Guerrero said.