Word: springfields
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...Blagojevich, who again showed up for work Thursday morning, is facing a storm of calls to resign even as impeachment hearings get under way in the state capital of Springfield. There, a panel of legislators pushed ahead after a brief delay over worries the impeachment would interfere with the federal prosecution of Blagojevich, who, according to a criminal complaint, tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat, among other alleged corrupt acts...
...That much was clear from the moment Genson, a Northwestern University grad, took the case. Right off the bat, he said he was going to trial. During an appearance in Springfield, he mocked the impeachment process, saying that too many of the 21 members on the panel had already made up their minds and that there were no clear standards to govern the proceedings. At one point, a member suggested, "You really should go back to criminal-law school." Genson quickly retorted, "Well, I have been doing it for 44 years, and maybe you should go back to law school...
...Though he has yet to file anything in federal court - no indictment has actually been returned against Blagojevich - Genson did hint at part of his strategy in Springfield on Thursday, saying the wiretaps that make up the bulk of the more salacious charges facing the governor were illegal. The evidence gathered in the taps, he said, was "illegally obtained" and should not be considered. He has also argued that all Blagojevich was doing was talking, not committing a crime. (Read TIME's top 10 political lines...
...press conference, a subdued Daley, who is bidding to land the 2016 Summer Olympics, went out of his way to distance himself and his city from the stain of the burgeoning scandal. "We don't have the [bad] reputation. We have a good city here. This is all about Springfield. This is not about Chicago...
After Tuesday's court proceedings, Blagojevich returned to his modest brown house on Chicago's North Side. For much of his tenure as governor, he has spent more time in Chicago than in Springfield, the state capital. Blagojevich has thus far refused to resign, and he still holds the power to fill Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat. But it's doubtful any credible candidate would accept a nomination that came from his hand. To try to circumvent the scandal, there is some talk of the lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn, appointing Obama's successor...