Impeachment Draft Released

UPDATE: Legal Insurrection: Illinois House Impeachment Report Sets Up Clash Over Fitzgerald Prosecution Evidence.*** Tribune:

"The citizens of this state must have confidence that their governor will faithfully serve the people and put their interests before his own. It is with profound regret that the committee finds that our current governor has not done so," says the draft report (full text), posted today by Democratic and Republican members on the House Web site. "For all the reasons stated in this report and the evidence contained in the record before the committee, the special investigative committee for the Illinois House of Representatives, 95th General Assembly, finds that the totality of the evidence warrants the impeachment of the governor for cause," the draft report concludes.

The report could still be amended when the committee meets later today. But it is expected to be sent to the full House, which would then take up impeachment of the governor.

In the 69-page report, committee members noted that the governor refused to testify and rebut any of the allegations involving his conduct or the federal criminal charges surrounding his arrest at his home Dec. 9.

"While the governor's silence could not be held against him in a criminal case, the opposite is true in a non-criminal proceeding such as this impeachment inquiry," the report said.