'I am prepared to take action,' state Attorney General Lisa Madigan said on CNN. She said the best thing would be for Blagojevich to resign. The governor was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he put President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat up for sale and he has ignored calls for his resignation. 'The easiest way for us to move on in the state of Illinois is for Governor Blagojevich to do the right thing for the people and to resign,' she said. 'Now, it doesn't appear that he has any inclination to do that. Maybe things will change today or tomorrow.' Madigan said she 'won't wait terribly long.' 'I have the opportunity to go to our Illinois Supreme Court and ask them to declare our governor is unable to serve and put in our lieutenant governor as acting governor,' Madigan said. Several other options are being considered to force the governor from office. Legislative leaders planned a special session on Monday to strip Blagojevich of his power to pick a new US senator, putting the decision in the hands of Illinois voters instead. Lawmakers also prepared to discuss the possibility of impeachment. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor. Pat Quinn predicted that if Blagojevich doesn't resign, it won't be long before he's either impeached or taken to the state's highest court by Madigan. 'I really think that the governor needs to resign and step aside right now and I think that will happen,' Quinn told NBC's 'Today' programme yesterday. 'If the governor doesn't act he will be impeached.' Quinn also said that if he became governor, he may opt to appoint Obama's replacement rather than wait for a special election. He said that while he's generally in favour of letting voters choose public officials, the economic crisis makes it vital for the state to have two senators in place. Blagojevich's lawyers have insisted he is innocent, and stressed that he still has important work to do for the state of Illinois. Blagojevich's decision to show up for work on Wednesday like it was another day at the office angered much of the state's political establishment, and Obama and US Senate leaders demanded that he step down. The prospect that the second-term Democratic governor might still try to appoint someone to the Senate also loomed. 'He appears to listen to no one, and his conduct becomes more outrageous as time goes on,' said Steve Brown, spokesman for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. The first fallout from the scandal also emerged Wednesday, with US Representative. Jesse Jackson Jr. denying any misconduct while confirming that he is the Senate candidate mentioned in the federal charges as someone Blagojevich thought would pay money to be appointed to the seat. Jackson, the son of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, said he had been assured by prosecutors he was not a target of the investigation. On Tuesday, FBI agents arrested Blagojevich at his home and took him away in handcuffs. Prosecutors released a thick document that included excerpts of wiretapped conversations in which the governor allegedly schemed to enrich himself by offering to sell Obama's Senate seat for campaign cash or a lucrative job inside or outside government. - Nampa-AP
Illinois AG: If Blagojevich Doesn t Resign, State May Declare Him Unfit
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