Illinois governor unanimously convicted and tossed from office

Governor Rod Blagojevich was thrown out of office today without a single lawmaker coming to his defense.

He was brought down by a government-for-sale scandal that stretched from Chicago to Capitol Hill and turned the foul-mouthed politician into a national punchline.

Blagojevich, accused of trying to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, becomes the first U.S. governor in more than 20 years to be removed by impeachment.

After a four-day trial, the Illinois Senate voted 59-0 to convict him of abuse of power, automatically ousting the second-term governor.

In a second, identical vote, lawmakers further barred Blagojevich from ever holding public office in the state again.

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It should be noted that the accusation that garnered the lionshare of the attention - that of 'trying' to sell Obama's vacant Senate seat - did not play a role in the trial or conviction in that trail ... it was all the other 'abuses' of power he had committed over the years as governor (just as had his predecessor - it is an Illinois thing).

The new governor will be just the same - Illinoians won't have it any other way.