McCaskill, senators call on Illinois governor to resign

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is among the Senate Democrats who signed a Dec. 10 letter to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich urging his resignation because of his alleged attempt to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat.

"Having read the transcript of Gov. Blagojevich's conversations, I only have one word - prison," McCaskill said in a statement provided regarding Blagojevich's arrest.

The letter, provided in a news release from McCaskill's office, reminds Blagojevich that it is within the Illinois legislature's authority to remove the governor's power to appoint someone to the seat by providing for a special election.

In the letter, the senators also threaten not to seat a Blagojevich appointee to the vacated seat, if he doesn't step down.

"Please understand that should you decide to ignore the request of the Senate Democratic Caucus and make an appointment, we would be forced to exercise our constitutional authority under Article I, Section 5, to determine whether such a person should be seated," the letter said.