By KWMU-AP
Springfield, IL – The Illinois Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by Attorney General Lisa Madigan to unseat Governor Rod Blagojevich through the court system.
Madigan and a group of private citizens had asked the court to declare Blagojevich unfit to serve, saying the governor's ongoing legal troubles make it impossible for him to do his job. The court rejected the case without argument.
Meanwhile, Blagojevich's attorney, Edward Genson, is asking the state to appoint and pay for a defense attorney who will represent the governor in impeachment and criminal proceedings. That job is supposed to be Lisa Madigan's. Genson says the tapes that allegedly show the governor attempting to sell president-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder are just, "people jabbering," and don't prove that the governor ever made any offers.
Genson is also upset that some members of the state House committee looking into whether to pursue impeachment have already made up their minds, and therefore should not be on the panel.