Goodbye

Baseball fans on the South Side of Rod Blagojevich's home town are fond of singing Steam's hit "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye". Now, all 59 members of Illinois' Senate have given Blagojevich essentially the same message. That body unanimously voted to convict him on the charges on which the House had impeached him. As a result of that vote, he is immediately removed from office.

Pat Quinn, who had been lieutenant governor, has been sworn in as the new governor of Illinois.

However, a consensus seems to have developed that Roland Burris, whom Blagojevich appointed to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, was an innocent bystander in relation to activities that formed the basis for the legislature's action.

Burris has taken up his duties as Illinois' junior senator.