Impeachment panel meets quietly

SPRINGFIELD — Drawing criticism from Gov. Blagojevich’s lawyer, the House impeachment panel Sunday quietly fine-tuned a draft report that could be used to oust Blagojevich from office.

The group has also issued a subpoena that was served Saturday on Roland Burris, the governor’s controversial choice to fill Illinois’ vacant U.S. Senate seat. The order compels Burris to testify Wednesday.

Without public notice, panel members gathered informally in Springfield on Sunday to review a 54-page draft report outlining evidence the committee likely will use as the basis for a possible impeachment vote later this week.

House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), the panel’s chairwoman, refused to describe Sunday’s gathering as a meeting or a breach of the state Open Meetings Act. Only committee members were notified of the event.

The report shown to panel members is not being made public, Currie said, because it is still in “draft” form. It contains a summation of evidence and testimony received to date by the committee, and panel members were given a chance Sunday to suggest changes to the document, she said.

Blagojevich lawyer Ed Genson said he was not notified that impeachment panel members were ordered to return to Springfield on Sunday.

“The fact is they’re meeting without informing me of their meeting. Working on a report without informing me of a report is perfectly consistent with what they’ve been doing since this process started,” said Genson.

Currie rejected Genson’s latest criticism as “a ridiculous comment” and noted that specific articles of impeachment were not presented Sunday.

“It was an opportunity for members to have a look at a preliminary draft report without risking that a preliminary draft report becomes something like a fait accompli, when it is not.”