Quinn Set to be Sworn in as Illinois Gov.

[tekisui]

Source: UPI

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Jan. 29 (UPI) --

Illinois Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn says he's ready to step in and replace Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Blagojevich faced possible conviction in the Illinois Senate following an impeachment trial -- a process he largely ignored until Thursday when he went before the body to deliver a closing argument.

I will be ready, Quinn told the Chicago Sun-Times before heading for Springfield.

Quinn said he had been careful not to be presumptuous as the state Legislature proceeded toward Blagojevich's expected removal from office.

Blagojevich boycotted the trial for three days, opting instead to argue his case on a variety of New York talk shows, professing his innocence, calling the impeachment trial unfair and complaining many of the statements attributed to him on recordings of his telephone conversations, made by federal agents, had been taken out of context.

Quinn was prepared to head with his mother, sons and supporters to the state House chamber and place his hand on a Bible while his longtime friend, Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, administers the oath of office, the Sun-Times said.

The attorney general has already made it crystal clear that under the law, if the Senate acts, then the governor is no longer the governor of Illinois, Quinn told the newspaper.

http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/41926.html