The following press release has been received from Crystal Lake’s State Rep. Mike Tryon:

Rep. Tryon Calls for Impeachment Proceedings; Transparent Government

As a longtime advocate of honesty and transparency in government, I am co-sponsoring a resolution, along with my House Republican colleagues, which calls for impeachment proceedings of Governor Blagojevich.

House Resolution 1644 creates a Special Investigative Committee, comprised of five House Republicans and five House Democrats, to determine whether there are grounds for the impeachment of Governor Rod Blagojevich. The resolution was filed the same day that Governor Blagojevich was arrested in his home by FBI agents and charged with various pay-to-play allegations, including attempting to sell the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President Elect Obama.

Next week, I will return to Springfield to consider legislation that would remove the Governor’s authority to make an appointment to the vacant U.S. Senate seat. Additionally, if the House adopts House Resolution 1644 next week, the Special Investigative Committee would hold hearings, make a recommendation on whether there is cause for impeachment; the House would vote on it, and then the proceedings move to the Senate for a trial. The Senate would be convened by the Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice and a 2/3 vote is needed to remove the Governor from office.

This week’s news reports revealed a shocking and disturbing abuse of power by our Governor, and the highest level of greed imaginable. The Governor’s actions continue to tarnish Illinois’ reputation and destroy the public’s trust in government. This only reaffirms my belief in the need for transparency in state government and state spending.

Last year, I partnered with taxpayer watchdog group Americans for Prosperity and authored transparency legislation which would have created the Illinois Accountability Portal, a website that would allow taxpayers to see how their money is spent by state government. Transparency would have significantly increased as the website would have listed state contracts, state employee salaries, and all state spending. House Bill 4765 received unanimous approval in the House, but was never called for a vote in the Senate.

I spearheaded the Illinois Accountability Portal because I wanted to restore public trust in government, end insider deals, and ensure that taxpayer money is spent in a fiscally responsible manner. Illinois has been called “pay-to-play” on steroids and this week’s revelation shows that we upped our dosage. This corruption must come to an end.

Additionally, last year, I was the chief co-sponsor of HJRCA 28 to create a constitutional amendment to allow voters to recall the Governor. I will continue to support measures that rid the state of corruption, and ensure that Illinois elected officials are not using their power for personal gain.

Please join me in demanding that Speaker Michael Madigan immediately initiate impeachment hearings in the Illinois House by emailing mike@miketryon.com to add your name to the petition of names we’re collecting from the 64th legislative district.

Sincerely,

Michael W. Tryon
Illinois State Representative
64th District