Update: Senate impeaches 59-0. Quinn has been sworn-in. May he serve the people of Illinois well.

Update 4: 12:45 pm EST: Blago just choked up talking about a woman who takes the train to work and the hours she works and her hard life…ah okay he is linking it to his policies and AllCare and how the actions he is charged with helped her life and her family’s life…and how he went around legislative gridlock and he confessed maybe he was frustrated and he pushed too hard and maybe he fights too much but it aint about him..charge it to my heart a desire to help families like I came from…

he says this sets a dangerous precedent for America, and how no wrong doing has been proven and his right to bring in certain witnesses was denied and what future Governors will face if he is thrown out of office under these circumstances..

.see he is getting me again there, I hate the whole travesty of this form of ‘trial’ without evidentiary roolz it is kangaroo court imo…and I dont want in the future, a GOV I elect thrown out without more proof, but that’s my lefty side talking again ain’t it..I once wanted to be a defense atty but I am too soft…

He said he knows they just want him to go away and put all this behind them but it isn’t right, and if he thought he was wrong he wouldn’t put his family, the Senate, the people thru this and he isnt resigning then or now and give me a chance to show you I have done nothing wrong…and let me bring witnesses in and Sure there’s embarrasment to members of my party in DC and the witnesses but they did nothing wrong either, let them come in and let me talk about those conversationd..i cant admit to something i didnt do..it isnt about me its about shaming my daughters..sniff sniff…

that is it, he leaves the chamber.Recess until 100pm

update 3: okay I have to say I think he’s really good. You can hear a pin drop. The facts he are giving that these charges are in large part from actions in the first term that were legal, ie rx reimportation from canada, flu vaccines, charges against his staff all these things that are pending in court and unresolved..I agree..is that my tree hugging side, my fuzzy animal loving, underdog supporting, fight for the rights of da people banner waving side? yeah likely, lol…

but the gallery is PACKED and the People are listening and frankly he sounds very reasonable that these acts were all for the people and he was reelected after the people knew about all these things yada yada….he is not talking about the PEBO seat thing..he says the means were reasonable and legal and the ends were moral…he is listing his motivations and how they were for the people..

He says gov of kansas and ted kennedy etc etc must all be impeached with me if the means i used on rx from canada are illegal…

I think Blago watched Mr Smith Goes to Washington or some other Capra films last night, he is channeling it verrrry well, it is verrry good..free Blago, lol..he is now talking about how he represents the American dream and his dad the Yugoslavian soldier and steelworker…this is moving for me…sigh..yeah I am a soft touch for this kind of thing…

update 2: OH SMACK!! Blago just got strident saying if you are gonna throw ME out of office for this prescription yada yada then you have to throw our Rahm Emanuel from the Presidents office since he came to me and  gave me this idea!!!

Update: 12:13pm EST: Blago is speaking now…

Byron, I mean Blago’s car is on it’s way to the Capitol to speak at his Impeachment ‘trial’…I hope we get some poetry…

FOX will cover it LIVE

From the IL State-Journal Register:

What will Blagojevich do? Reprise the martyr role he played out in TV studios from one end of New York City to the other? Attack members of the Senate for favors they sought? Compare himself with saviors of society from the past? Quit?

With Rod Blagojevich, nobody knows.

But it does look as if Blagojevich’s period as governor will be over, probably within hours.

-snip-

Lt. Gov. PAT QUINN, a reformer and gadfly who has gained respect and gravitas over the years, is likely to become governor as early as today.

He’s shown, through stints as an elected official in Cook County, state treasurer and his current office, that he’s not in it for the money. Some might disagree with some of his past crusades, such as the one that reduced the size of the Illinois House from 177 to 118 in a 1980 referendum, but he’s still out there working to help consumers. And his attention to families of fallen soldiers has been heartfelt and much appreciated by those served.

-snip-

Stewart has left a job as executive director of the Better Government Association, an 85-year-old government watchdog group that dates to the days of Al Capone, to join Quinn.
“It says a lot about the lieutenant governor that this is the kind of person that he is looking to surround himself with,” said DAVE LUNDY, BGA board secretary and spokesman.

-snip-

Lots more changes are sure to come quickly, in the governor’s office and throughout state government.

Yes but will there be poetry?