Patrick Quinn was recently sworn in as Illinois 41st governor, since Illinois lawmakers voted to remove Governor Rod Blagojevich from office. On January 8, 2009, the Illinois House of Representatives voted to impeach Governor Blagojevich for corruption and misconduct while in office. On January 29 the Illinois State Senate made a unanimous decision and voted Blagojevich out and also voted to permanently bar him from holding another office in Illinois again. All 59 Senators and 114 of the 115 House members voted to remove Blagojevich from his position due to abuse of power. Blagojevich has repeatedly claimed that he has not abused his power. During his impeachment trial, he appeared on numerous national television programs to state his case to the public, and now after his removal from office, he continues to do so. On his February 3, 2009, appearance with David Letterman, Blagojevich remarked that he had wanted to appear on the late night show “in the worst way,” to which Letterman replied that he that former governor was appearing on his show in the worst way.
Blagojevich’s troubles are not over, however. On December 9, 2008, he was arrested on federal corruption charges. These charges included conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud plus bribery for President Obama’s Senate seat. He awaits indictment on these and other possible charges in the spring.
Blagojevich’s Lieutenant Governor and replacement Patrick Quinn is also a member of the Democratic Party. He was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, and attended a Catholic grade school. He is divorced and has two sons. Quinn served as an aide to Governor Dan Walker. While still in school, he became interested in politics. He formed an organization called “The Coalition of Political Honesty”. He also led a statewide campaign for the Cutback Amendment to the Illinois Constitution. In 1982, Quinn was elected as commissioner of the Cook County Board of Tax Appeals,also known as the Board of Review. In 2002, Quinn became Lieutenant Governor. While in this position his main concerns were consumer advocacy, environmental protection, healthcare, broadband deployment, and veterans affairs.