Governor’s absence, lack of representation are baffling, citizens in gallery crowd say

By Ashley Rueff | Tribune reporter, SPRINGFIELD — While Gov. Rod Blagojevich took his impeachment case to a national television audience, two Orland Park men who traveled to watch the historic Senate trial unfold were befuddled Monday that he refused to show up.

“I don’t think that that’s a very wise move,” said Richard O’Neill, 79, a courtroom enthusiast who woke up at 4 a.m. to drive to Springfield with neighbor and friend Ron Vezina, 77, to see the trial.

O’Neill and Vezina each voted twice to elect Blagojevich. Both said they hope the trial will remove him from office.

Vezina said he regrets voting for the governor because he thinks “a lot of money has been misused in the state, and part of it was mine.”

Just 40 minutes into the trial, the men said they were impressed with the formality of the proceedings but were astonished that the governor didn’t have any representation.

A line of curious visitors formed outside the Senate gallery quickly after the trial convened. The swarming local and national news media squeezed into one side of the gallery overlooking the Senate floor, leaving only 60 seats for visitors.

Mike Rolape, 24, an employee with the Illinois Department of Transportation, stopped by to catch a glimpse of the trial on his lunch break but had to wait outside because of the crowd.

Rolape has been working for IDOT for seven months and said he’s interested to see how his job would be affected by a transition in the executive branch if Blagojevich is convicted in the Senate.

“I think it’s just a matter of time before he’s removed,” Rolape said. “Even if he’s proven innocent [of the criminal charges], I don’t think anyone will trust him to do his job.”

In contrast to the Senate, the doors to the House chamber stood open and unattended. House lawmakers adjourned after their 117-1 vote to impeach Blagojevich, and other legislative business has been put on hold pending the outcome of the trial.

Unlike previous weeks when large groups gathered around televisions and radios to watch Blagojevich’s defiant news conferences or listen as House lawmakers voted for his impeachment, state workers at the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago largely pressed on with business as usual as the trail unfolded.

Original Article By Ashley Rueff | Tribune reporter, SPRINGFIELD