The Illinois state Senate voted unanimously Thursday to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich and remove him from office.
Blagojevich was arrested in December under federal charges of corruption for trying to sell President Barack Obama's then vacant U.S. Senate seat.
Since then, he has ignored requests for him to step down from several officials, including Obama.
The Illinois House voted in favor of impeaching Blagojevich 114-1 on Jan. 9. Now that both houses have voted against him, he is forced out of office and barred from holding future public office in the state.
I'm obviously saddened and disappointed, but not at all surprised by what the state Senate did today,"" he said during a news conference after the Senate decision.
In his closing arguments to the Senate, Blagojevich still maintained he ""had done absolutely nothing wrong"" and never intended to violate any law. He wanted to bring in witnesses to make a case for his innocence, but rules prevented him from doing so.
Shortly after the Senate's vote, Ill. Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn, a democrat, took the oath of office as the state's new governor.
