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Blagojevich on the Way Out, Says Illinois' No. 2
CHICAGO -- The lieutenant governor of Illinois said he is certain that scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) will be out of office in less than two months.
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn (D) said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation" that he thinks Blagojevich will be impeached and convicted by the state legislature by Abraham Lincoln's bicentennial birthday celebration Feb. 12.
Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on charges alleging that he schemed to swap President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat for profit and shook down a hospital executive for campaign donations. The governor has said he will fight the charges.
Blagojevich needs to know "he's disgraced himself, he's disgraced the people of Illinois," Quinn said. The lieutenant governor said he hasn't spoken to Blagojevich since August 2007.
Quinn will become governor if Blagojevich leaves office. He said he would call for a special election to fill Obama's seat.
Exonerated Man Is Charged
CROWN POINT, Ind. -- A man exonerated by DNA evidence two years ago after serving eight years in an Illinois prison on a rape conviction now faces a murder charge in Indiana. Marlon Pendleton, 51, was arrested this month for allegedly killing his 45-year-old girlfriend. Her body was found at a Hammond, Ind., home where Pendleton was living. Pendleton made headlines in 2006 when DNA evidence cleared him in a 1992 rape. Since then, he's been pardoned by Gov. Rod Blagojevich and filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago for suffering he endured in prison.
Fewer Police Deaths in 2008
Fewer police officers died in the line of duty in 2008 than last year, reflecting better training and tactics, two law enforcement support groups reported. The findings reversed the trend for 2007, when there was a spike in police deaths, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and another group, Concerns of Police Survivors. Officer deaths this year totaled 140, compared with 181 in 2007. Most of this year's fatalities involved accidents; 39 percent resulted from criminal acts.
