Illinois senators have taken the first steps in the proceedings to decide whether Blagojevich is thrown out of office.
Senate leaders agreed to accept Roland Burris's appointment, ending a standoff with Illinois Gov. Blagojevich.
The lawyer for the Illinois House Democrats has been chosen to present the case against Blagojevich.
The Illinois House voted to impeach Blagojevich, setting the stage for a state Senate trial after the governor's arrest on corruption charges.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Burris's Senate appointment is valid even without the secretary of state's signature. Sen. Durbin said the ruling has created an impasse over seating Burris.
An Illinois House panel voted unanimously to recommend that the full House impeach Blagojevich. (Report text)
Illinois's secretary of state said he has no intention of signing papers deemed necessary for the appointment of Roland Burris, Blagojevich's pick for the Senate.
Senate Democrats and Obama backed down from a political fight with Blagojevich's appointee to fill the president-elect's seat.
Blagojevich's lawyers told a court that the governor objects to the release of federal wiretaps to a legislative committee studying whether to impeach him.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the chamber has the authority to block the appointment of Roland Burris but left open the possibility that he could still be seated.
Roland Burris battled to win certification amid doubts over whether he will take office when Congress convenes Tuesday.
Roland Burris suggested he would challenge an effort to block his appointment to Obama's Senate seat and said he's confident he'll be allowed to take the job.
Blagojevich picked an ex- Illinois attorney general to fill Obama's Senate seat, but opposition made it unclear if the appointee would get the job.
The Illinois lieutenant governor expects Blagojevich to be impeached by the state House and convicted by the Senate, clearing the way for an election to fill Obama's Senate seat.
Blagojevich's attorney offered a report by Obama's team to bolster his case that there's insufficient evidence to impeach the Illinois governor.
President-elect Obama helped enact an Illinois good-government reform measure in 2003 that appeared to inadvertently have aided Gov. Blagojevich in an alleged corruption scheme.
Obama and two top advisers were questioned by prosecutors in the Blagojevich case last week. In a memo, Obama's transition team denied any improper contact with the Illinois governor. (Report)
The Illinois House committee probing a possible impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich won't subpoena two incoming White House advisers.
Federal prosecutors are asking the committee studying impeachment of Illinois Gov. Blagojevich not to dig into criminal charges against the governor.
Chances that Illinois would swiftly oust its governor faded as the new lawyer for Gov. Blagojevich arrived at the state capitol with a host of objections to the impeachment process.
The $8 million in new state money that Blagojevich allegedly tied to a $50,000 contribution from a children's-hospital executive would have provided treatment to the sickest and poorest children in Illinois.
State Democrats slammed the door on a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Obama, reversing calls for a vote and ending a rare sense of statewide bipartisanship that followed Blagojevich's arrest.
A federal affidavit alleges Blagojevich attempted to pressure a horse-racing official for a contribution in return for the governor's signature on legislation.
Obama's office is set to release a report giving a full accounting of contacts with Blagojevich, and Obama aides say the official under the most scrutiny -- Rahm Emanuel -- will be exonerated after weeks of innuendo. | Video
Obama's transition said an analysis of its contacts with Blagojevich's staff found no inappropriate discussions, but delayed the release of the findings at the request of the U.S. Attorney's office. (Statement)
Obama had begun thinking about his Senate successor even before the election, and dispatched Rahm Emanuel days after the vote to contact aides of Blagojevich to begin talking up candidates.
Illinois officials said they will proceed with a $1.4 billion short-term bond sale that was postponed last week after the arrest of Gov. Blagojevich on corruption charges.
Obama promised to release in the next few days a list of contacts between his transition staff and staff or emissaries of Blagojevich.
Obama vowed there is no connection between his incoming administration and the pay-to-play tactics Illinois Gov. Blagojevich is accused of using.
The Blagojevich pay-to-play case puts another Chicago figure back in the spotlight: developer Antoin Rezko, a onetime Obama fund-raiser who was convicted in June of influence peddling.
The scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Blagojevich threatened to taint rising Democratic star Jesse Jackson Jr. and pull in one of the nation's biggest labor unions.
The pride that has surged through Chicago since Obama's victory is showing signs of deflating now that political corruption has returned to center stage in Illinois.
Amid the scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Jesse Jackson Jr. said he's been assured by prosecutors that he's not a target of the investigation.
Subscriber Content Read Preview
A day after the parent company of the Chicago Tribune tipped into bankruptcy, the paper found itself in the middle of one of the biggest hometown political stories in decades.
Illinois Gov. Blagojevich was preparing to issue an order prior to his arrest allowing union organizing of home-care workers, which could have benefited a labor union with close ties to the governor.
Allegations that Blagojevich approached the nation's largest union seeking help in a pay-for-play scheme are the latest episode in a long, mutually beneficial relationship between the governor and the powerful Service Employees International Union.
Prosecutors say the Illinois governor saw the Senate seat as an escape hatch from mounting debt and that his actions appear consistent with a history of opportunistic behavior.
The criminal complaint against Blagojevich cites financial troubles, including more than $500,000 in legal bills.
The governor practiced market-based management.
By John Fund
The power struggle to appoint a replacement.
The president-elect could use his bully pulpit to drive a clean-up.
This wiretap was golden.
The latest news and analysis delivered to your in-box. Check the boxes below to sign up.
Subscriber Content Read Preview