Governor faces impeachment

Governor Rod Blagojevich faces almost certain impeachment by the Illinois House, a historic step that would trigger a trial to determine whether the Democratic governor should be tossed out of office.

A simple majority vote will be enough to impeach. With Blagojevich defenders almost impossible to find, the outcome appears set.

The governor seemed to acknowledge the inevitable when he issued a statement on Thursday night that looked past the House vote and predicted a different outcome in the subsequent Senate trial. His statement criticized the hearings leading up to the House vote as unfair and biased.