ILLINOIS GEN. Assembly Impeachment Resolution: 19 Co-Sponsors Now

[autorank]

The Illinois General Assembly has an impeachment resolution on the table. It was introduced by Rep Karen A. Yarbrough on April 20, 2006. It has two co sponsors (see article below). Now it has 19! for .House Joint Resolution 125

LOOK AT THE RULES COMMITTEE...3 Democrats to 2 REPUBLICANS; 2 DEMOCRATS FROM CHICAGO, the third Democrat is Assistant Majority Leader. This one could pop.

Short Description: PRESIDENT BUSH-IMPEACHMENT

ACTIONS:
http://tinyurl.com/hzfl2
4/20/2006 House Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Karen A. Yarbrough
4/21/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Sara Feigenholtz
4/21/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Eddie Washington
4/24/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Cynthia Soto
4/25/2006 House Referred to Rules Committee (see committee below
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. William Delgado
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. William Davis
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Kenneth Dunkin
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Wyvetter H. Younge
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Arthur L. Turner
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Esther Golar
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Constance A. Howard
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. David E. Miller
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Annazette Collins
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Calvin L. Giles
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Deborah L. Graham
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Robin Kelly
4/25/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Edward J. Acevedo
5/2/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Michelle Chavez
5/2/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Robert Rita
5/3/2006 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Lou Lang

Rules Committee (the committee has yet to set hearings)

CHAIRPERSON:Barbara Flynn Currie - , DEMOCRAT,Chicago
Republican: William B. Black – ,Republican, Danville
Member: Gary Hannig – DEMOCRAT, Gillespie
Member: Brent Hassert – Republican, Romeoville
Member: Arthur L. Turner - DEMOCRAT, Chicago




http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0604/S00294.htm

Bush Impeachment Resolution Introduced In Illinois

Monday, 24 April 2006, 2:03 pm
Opinion: Michael Collins

Representative Yarborough, Illinois State Legislature Introduces Bill
Invokes Never Used Provision from Thomas Jefferson’s Rules

Sunday 23, April 2006
By Michael Collins
For “Scoop” Independent Media
Washington, DC

Representative Karen A. Yarbrough, a Democratic member of the Illinois State Assembly, introduced a resolution calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush.House Joint Resolution 125 was introduced on April 20, 2006 with two co sponsors, Representatives Sara Feigenholtz and Eddie Washington, also both Democrats. Derided by Thomas Jefferson as scarcely a scarecrow, the presidential impeachment process is a rarity in United States history. The impeachment of federal judges is more common but also a rare event.

When invoked impeachment charges have always originated in the House of Representatives. After hearings, a vote is taken on each charge in the impeachment resolution. Given majority approval, a delegation from the House takes the case for impeachment to the Senate for a formal trial. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides with House members serving as prosecutors, the president’s lawyers for the defense, and the Senators as the jury. Only Presidents Andrew Johnson and William Jefferson Clinton were impeached by the House of Representatives. In both cases, Senate trials failed to find them guilty of any charge.

Jefferson’s Revenge

There is a little known set of supplementary rules for both the US Senate and House of Representatives developed by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was clear on his opposition to centralized federal power and frequently sought balances giving states greater liberties and rights. Jefferson’s rules, Section 603, state:

Inception of impeachment proceedings in the House: there are various methods of setting an impeachment in motion: by charges made on the floor on the responsibility of a Member or Delegate; by charges preferred by a memorial, which is usually referred to a committee for examination; by a resolution dropped in the hopper by a Member and referred to a committee; by a message from the President; by charges transmitted from the legislature of a State or territory or from a grand jury.

The language in Jefferson’s parliamentary guidelines is clear. State legislatures can set an impeachment in motion with a Joint Resolution approved by the legislature (both the state Senate and Assembly). No state has taken advantage of this provision. In fact, it is so obscure; the majority of Vermont legislators who asked for impeachment did so in a formal letter to the House of Representatives rather than invoking Jefferson’s Rule 603.

Illinois Joint Resolution 125

Bush is charged with the following high crimes and misdemeanors in Representative Yarborough’s resolution (summary):

1. Ordering the National Security Agency to spy on American citizens without a warrant (a felony).
2. Violating the Torture Convention of the Geneva Conventions, a treaty regarded as supreme law by the United States Constitution;
3. Holding American and other citizens as prisoners of war without a charge or trial;
4. Manipulating intelligence to start the Iraq war resulting in the deaths of large numbers of Iraqi civilians and causing the United States to incur loss of life, diminished security and billions of dollars in unnecessary expenses; and,
5. Leaking classified national secrets to further a political agenda thus exposing U.S. agents to potential harm and retribution while simultaneously refusing to investigate the matter.

Noting that the Republican controlled Congress failed to investigate the matter, the resolution invokes the powers under Section 603 of the Jefferson rules. The resolution reaches its summary by arguing that:

the State of Illinois has good cause to submit charges to the U. S. House of Representatives under Section 603 that the President of the United States has willfully violated his Oath of Office to preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, That George W. Bush, if found guilty of the charges contained herein, should be removed from office and disqualified to hold any other office in the United States.

Each of these charges is a grave violation of the oath of office and some of them represent potential criminal charges against President Bush should he be impeached. The proposed action is unusual since it has two parts. Bush would both removed from office and disqualified to hold any other office.
Impeachment of a president or other federal office holder allows only for removal from office.

Further financial penalties, jail time, etc. are optional for the president after he is removed from office. There is an ongoing debate over the ability of prosecutors to indict a sitting president. Although the language of the Constitution seems to allow this, there are points of tradition and interpretation used to argue against the practice.

Flight of Fancy or Emerging Reality

Bushes popularity ratings have taken a nose for the past two years. The only point that he approached 50% was on Election Day 2004. For months prior to that day and subsequently, his popularity has trended downward. His most recent approval rating was only 33% as measured by the sympathetic Fox News public opinion poll. His disapproval rating is in the 60% range in almost all polls. Nearly two out of every three Americans strongly disapprove of Bush. |State by state polling shows only four states in which Bush has an approval rating over 50%.

Despite this, the Democratic congressional delegation has been reluctant to even mention impeachment as a strategy. When Senator Russell Feingold, D, introduced a Censure Resolution, he was criticized by Republicans and also some members of his own party. At this point, the bill proposed in Illinois has stimulated no comments from leaders of either party. Should the joint resolution pass, there is little doubt a major controversy will ensue.

Illinois is a state dominated by the Democratic Party. Democratic presidential candidates carried the state by 60% margins in the last two elections. The governor and the legislature are controlled by the Democrats. At this time, the likelihood of passage is unknown. Coverage has been almost exclusively on internet blogs and one national opinion magazine, The Nation, in an article by John Nichols.

The Illinois Resolution Sponsors


(Left to right) Illinois State Assembly Representatives Karen Yarborough, sponsor; Sara Feigenholtz and Eddie Washington, co-sponsors. All Democrats, the three representatives are from the Chicago area.

Karen Yarborough is from a political family. Her husband holds political office in their home town, Maywood. She is a third generation entrepreneur, as she describes herself and owns an insurance agency. Feigenholtz is a political and community activist form the north side of Chicago. Washington served in local government and as head of a regional Urban League chapter prior to his election in 2003. The three are all active in serving their constituents and not known as ideologues. Their action on April 20th will place them front and center in one of the greatest ideological struggles in American history. Should Illinois pass on the resolution, this novel story may emerge into a national issue of grave importance.

***END***

[WhiteTara]

1. I have my fingers crossed on that one

I don't think our critters have any courage at all. They don't see anything in it for them. F*ck their pledge to the constitution, it's all about the money.

[Peace Patriot]

7. Hey, pay attention to those who ARE courageous, like the 19 co-sponsors

of this impeachment resolution! Why start off the comment on the WONDERFUL DEVELOPMENT and excellent post with such a negative comment?

"Abandon hope all ye who enter here!" --that kind of mood.

I'm not any pollyanna, always wanting good news. In fact, I often dwell on the bad news, but I don't do it to depress myself, or others. I think we need to know ALL of what we are up against, including the failures and corruption of our own party leadership, in order to effectively strategize how to recover our democracy.

But when somebody stands up to be counted, and shows courage and creativity--as these legislators have--let's GIVE THEM SOME PRAISE and let's put our minds to how to SUPPORT THEM--and energize and re-empower the American people--and not wallow in how we are all f*cked.

Okay?

We have two main problems regarding political DEPRESSION: 1) Our elections are rigged, now more than ever with the new electronic voting systems run on TRADE SECRET programming code, owned and controlled by Bushite corporations--we get our hopes up, we get everybody out to vote, we lose--very depressing; and 2) the war profiteering corporate news monopolies are not just laying sons-of-bitches, they are broadcasting a relentless message into our heads of our ISOLATION, POWERLESSNESS and MINORITY status--we KNOW we are not the minority yet we still, somehow, believe it, and end up ACTING OUT this powerlessness message, for instance with gratuitous downer posts here at DU.

Please fight the "Resistance is futile--you will be assimilated" message of these corporate news monopolies! Fight it in yourself. Fight it in others.

And GET BUSY (if you are not already doing so) on some strategically important project to RESTORE OUR DEMOCRACY!

[WhiteTara]

14. go PP

I'm delighted that Illinois has 19 co sponsors. Paul Koretz resolution in CA has no co sponsors. I spent a few hours with our state critters last week and they were FURIOUS that I would bring up impeachment and vowed never to help Koretz. So, hence my gloom for California.

I am active in our local club, was part of the citizens verification of our ballot boxes, actively campaign for our local and state democratic candidates and write copious letters to the paper, congress critters and of course, I am on the streets with almost every demonstration I can get to.

Here's to some water in the glass.

[dweller]

2. K & R !

and i'd better not be the only one.

:kick:

dp

[UrbScotty]

5. You're not - it's on the Greatest Page (nt)

[EFerrari]

3. Go, Land of Lincoln!

:kick:

[autorank]

9. Honest Abe opposed the Mexicam American War--with real vigor.

Illinois has a good tradition of #*it kickers in politics. Let's hope somebody in Chicago gets a bee in their bonnet and gets some calls to this chairman. I'm sure she can handle it. I mean just getting elected there means your tough. What's the big deal of the ENTIRE NATION looking at you and saying, "What the heck?" I think it would take off if they'd just let it rip.

:hi:

[EFerrari]

10. I'd dearly love to see them do it!

:)

[diamondsndust]

4. Let's hope this grows legs

and runs somewhere. Thanks for posting this info.

:kick: & Rec

[autorank]

6. I'm going to give Yarbrough's office a call tomorrow, get an update.

The other thread with the Rockford IL editorial in it got me thinking, :wtf:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1583326

So I reprinted the Scoop article. I'll call in the morning and try to get a gauge on how real this is or if it's dead for now.

Look at that committee - 3 - 2 Democrats, 2 from Chicago although the third Democrat is from very Southern Ohio, below Springfield but who knows, mayb e he's "farm labor."

If your in the great state of Illinois, let it rip and call these folks.

[rodeodance]

8. LONG ones

[Peace Patriot]

11. California also has an impeachment resolution in the hopper, which

calls for impeachment of both Bush and Cheney. See Below.

And here's another GREAT SITE! Many impeachment resources--they endorse pro-impeachment candidates!
http://www.impeachpac.org/

__________

http://www.democrats.com/node/8696

California Becomes Second State to Introduce Bush Impeachment

April 24, 2006

By David Swanson


Joining Illinois, California has become the second state in which a proposal to impeach President Bush has been introduced in the state legislature. And this one includes Cheney as well.


California Assemblyman Paul Koretz of Los Angeles (where the LA Times has now called for Cheney's resignation) has submitted amendments to Assembly Joint Resolution No. 39, calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney. The amendments reference Section 603 of Jefferson's Manual of the Rules of the United States House of Representatives, which allows federal impeachment proceedings to be initiated by joint resolution of a state legislature.


The resolution, in the words of Koretz's press release, "bases the call for impeachment upon the Bush Administration intentionally misleading the Congress and the American people regarding the threat from Iraq in order to justify an unnecessary war that has cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives and casualties; exceeding constitutional authority to wage war by invading Iraq; exceeding constitutional authority by Federalizing the National Guard; conspiring to torture prisoners in violation of the 'Federal Torture Act' and indicating intent to continue such actions; spying on American citizens in violation of the 1978 Foreign Agency Surveillance Act; leaking and covering up the leak of the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson, and holding American citizens without charge or trial."


Koretz submitted amendments gutting AJR No. 39, a resolution unrelated to impeachment, to the Assembly Rules Committee. The Rules Committee may take up the bill this week for referral, allowing him to formally introduce the amended resolution.


AJR 39 is a bill introduced in January by Koretz calling for a moratorium on depleted uranium:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_0001-0050/ajr_39_bill_20060104...


"At both the state and national levels," Koretz said, "we will be paying for the Bush Administration's illegal actions and terrible lack of judgment and competence for decades—not only in the billions of dollars wasted on the war and welfare for the rich, but in the worldwide loss of respect for America and Americans. Bush and Cheney must be impeached and removed from office before they undertake even deadlier misdeeds, such as the use of nuclear weapons. There are no bounds to their willingness to ignore the Constitution and world opinion—we can't afford to wait for the next disaster and hope that we can survive it."


For more inormation and to thank this American hero, contact Paul Michael Neuman in Koretz's District Office: [phone] [e-mail] or go here:
http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a42/Contact.htm


Here is a kit to help with promoting this resolution and with passing others in your towns and cities and states. Also on this page is information on activities in other states and localities:
http://www.impeachpac.org/resolutions


Get organized in California to pass this bill!
http://pdamerica.org/statecaucus.php?s=CA


Illinois Legislators Were First to Introduce Bill for Bush Impeachment


Three members of the Illinois General Assembly have introduced a bill that urges the General Assembly to submit charges to the U. S. House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings against the President of the United States, George W. Bush, for willfully violating his Oath of Office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and if found guilty urges his removal from office and disqualification to hold any other office in the United States.


The Jefferson Manual of rules for the U.S. House of Representatives makes clear that impeachment proceedings can be initiated by a state legislature submitting charges. The state of Illinois is on its way toward forcing on the House what not a single one of its members has yet had the courage to propose: Articles of Impeachment.


The text of the Illinois bill and information on its status are available here:
http://tinyurl.com/nhs3r


The bill takes up the issues of illegal spying, torture, detentions without charge or trial, manipulation of pre-war intelligence, and the leaking of classified information.


Please thank these sponsors of the bill:


Rep. Karen A. Yarbrough, phone [phone] or [phone]; fax [phone]


Rep Sara Feigenholtz , phone [phone] or [phone]; fax [phone] or [phone]


Rep. Eddie Washington phone [phone] or [phone], fax [phone]


Here is a kit to help with promoting this resolution and with passing others in your towns and cities. Also on this page is information on activities in other states and localities:
http://www.impeachpac.org/resolutions


Get organized in Illinois to pass this bill!
http://pdamerica.org/statecaucus.php?s=IL


This article
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/9249


Future updates:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org

[autorank]

15. Outstanding resources Peace Patriot, Thanks you!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[Peace Patriot]

12. Some thoughts about impeachment as a political strategy...

It could be very energizing to voters, the majority of whom are clearly with us. Candidates need a fire lit under them--after the demoralizing theft in 2004.

I've heard talk, I think on AAR, to this effect: The Dems are shying away from this for fear of alienating independent and Republican voters. WHAT THE HELL! What about INSPIRING the TRUE MAJORITY--us?!

When Koretz was interviewed by Randi Rhodes, she asked him, "WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? Democrats have a 2 to 1 majority in the state legislature! Get this done--NOW!" She was great. And Koretz explained that some Dems feel it might interfere with deals they are making with Republicans and Schwarzenegger. !!!!!

So, I guess, once again, it's not our leaders lighting a fire under us--it's us having to light a fire under our leaders--if we can get them away from their Republican pals.

Okay, okay, okay, FIGHT negativism!

But anyway: I think this impeachment strategy--by citizen pressure at the state level, and by other means (f.i., Feingold's censure resolution)--COMBINED with a huge Absentee Ballot vote in November--say, 90% of the voters protesting the voting machines--and we've got something. An ordinary citizens' rebellion against the machines; fighting mad voters and Dem rank and file calling for impeachment and pressuring our leaders to ACT.

I'm looking for a Grand Strategy that sparks American Revolution II. I've been thinking about the Absentee Ballot voting thing for a while now. A lot of people are choosing to vote by Absentee Ballot because they don't trust the machines, and they want a paper ballot, hand-counted. They don't know the ways that AB votes are marginalized (and/or just scanned into the electronic system). But it's their only way to protest. And many are doing it. (50% in Los Angeles.) I think we should seize hold of this indigenous citizen protest and make it a big deal. If we can get it up to, say 70%, nationwide, then the machines are nearly OBSOLETE. And when and if THAT happens, we have a real election reform revolution occurring--from the people!

And if this was combined with a movement to remove Bush-Cheney--for the war, for lying, for violating the Constitution, and for treason (on the Plame/Brewster-Jennings outings)--I think we could generate a huge turnout in November--needed to overcome Bushite/Republican vote suppression and "trade secret" vote counting.

[autorank]

13. I'm high on Illinois. It's midwest, it's rural-urban, it's got attitude.

California's resolution would probably include a therapy fund for * to deal with his self-esteem issues after impeachment(I'm a native son of CA, this is a joke, don't shoot me).

The rules committee has two representatives form Chicago, Democrats. The third Democrat, for the majority, is from way down state. Gary Manning, the deputy Democratic leader, has a boatload of bills he's sponsoring or co sponsoring. He's form a town of 1500 down state and that's about all I know now.

Illinois just seems more manageable. There's one guy necessary to get it out of committee. He's probably bullet proof politically. So it's binary, he'll either do it or not. CA, nah...too many legislative primas out there (excluding Bowen and some serious legislators).

I'll bet you 10 bouncies and three "you rocks" that Illinois is the 1st with an impeachment resolution.

:evilgrin:

[Vidar]

16. Go, Illinois!

[Norquist Nemesis]

17. Wish they'd fast-track and pass it TODAY!

while Bush is yucking it up all over the metro area! :banghead: