Congressman Rush declares Blagojevich "politicall unfit" to appoint Obama Senate seat successor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2008

Congressman Rush Declares Gov. Rod Blagojevich
as Politically Unfit to Appoint Senate Successor

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, on Capitol Hill, Congressman Bobby L. Rush provided the following statement in response to press queries about the shocking arrest, this morning, of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on charges that he tried to benefit, financially, from his constitutional duty to appoint a replacement for the U.S. Senate seat recently vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama.

“Like the people of the great state of Illinois, I was shocked and angered by the disturbing news, this morning, that Governor Blagojevich had been arrested for what federal prosecutors describe as “a political corruption crime spree.”

“I believe that the acts that are alleged to have been committed by the Governor are so heinous that he has forfeited his right to appoint someone to fill the seat of President-Elect Barack Obama. My bottom line is that the Governor should not be the one to make the appointment to this important office.

“I also do not necessarily believe that holding a special election is the right way to go either for the basic reason that when the President-Elect is sworn into office on January 20th, my colleagues and I in the House will be called upon to vote, almost immediately, on several important pieces of legislation ranging from an economic stimulus package to health care reform. Illinois deserves to have its two Senate votes in place by January 20th and a special election would, at the earliest, occur in the spring of 2009.

“I want my constituents to know that I am in urgent counsel with attorneys in our state to suggest a remedy to this crisis in leadership that addresses the concerns I and others have raised about the importance of keeping African American representation in the United States Senate and, certainly, our important second vote from our state.”

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