SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impeach Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich on Friday morning on the grounds of abuse of power as the state's chief executive. He is the first governor in Illinois's history to be impeached, and his case now goes to the state Senate for trial.

The Illinois House of Representatives debated a resolution to impeach Governor Rod R. Blagojevich on Friday in Springfield.

The House deliberated less than an hour and a half before voting 114 to 1 to oust the governor, just one day after a 21-member House investigative committee unanimously recommended impeachment. The only member to vote against impeachment was Milton Patterson, a Democrat from Chicago. No one spoke up to defend Mr. Blagojevich.

The last governor to be impeached was Evan Mecham of Arizona, who was removed from office in 1988 after serving 15 months.

Mr. Blagojevich, 52, was jogging in his Chicago neighborhood when the vote came down. He has scheduled a press conference this afternoon.

Legislators spent the morning discussing the merits of the case against Mr. Blagojevich, the two-term Democrat who has been embroiled in a sprawling legal and political drama since his arrest on Dec. 9 on federal corruption charges, including accusations that he schemed to sell the United States Senate seat formerly held by President-elect Barack Obama.

(NYT)