The Illinois House of Representatives voted almost unanimously last week to impeach Mr Blagojevich.
Many other governors have been playing the same sorts of pension-fund games as Mr Blagojevich.
Mr Blagojevich faces charges including racketeering, conspiracy, wire fraud and making false statements to investigators.
Mr Blagojevich was charged last week with a number of offences including soliciting a bribe.
His lawyer told reporters that Mr Blagojevich believed he had done nothing wrong and had no plans to resign.
And while the Illinois State Senate sharpened its axe, Mr Blagojevich toured the TV studios, still pleading his innocence.
The secretary of state refuses to sign because of Mr Blagojevich's corruption investigation.
Since Mr Blagojevich was arrested last month, he has persistently denied the charges against him and has refused to resign.
Mr Blagojevich was arrested on 9 December and accused of trying to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions.
But rising incomes and tax revenues have also helped Mr Blagojevich, who is now dreaming of offering universal free kindergarten.
As governor, Mr Blagojevich has the sole authority to pick Mr Obama's temporary successor as senator until an election is held.
Before him came Mr Blagojevich, who is now writing a book that, many hope, will match the eloquence of his telephone conversations.
The panel said the evidence showed Mr Blagojevich was not fit to be governor, and voted unanimously to proceed to an impeachment vote.
It is alleged the conversations show that Mr Blagojevich was trying to use the seat to get himself or his wife a job.
Mr Blagojevich's lawyer, Edward Genson, has appeared before a bipartisan panel of state lawmakers who will decide whether the governor should be impeached.
Mr Blagojevich caused outrage by returning to work on Wednesday, a day after he was released on bail having appeared before a federal judge.
In Illinois, state legislators are now scrambling to remove Mr Blagojevich from office, and the Democrats hope that his successor would then appoint Mr Burris.
Mr Fitzgerald, one indictment at a time, has been pushing Illinois in the right direction, but his exposure of Mr Blagojevich represents a new low.
If convicted of wrongdoing in these and other schemes, Mr Blagojevich would have the honour of being the most despicable politician in Illinois's recent history.
Impeachment prosecutor David Ellis, in his rebuttal, emphasised that Mr Blagojevich had refused to appear under oath to answer questions, opting instead to make a closing speech.
Federal investigators, who had been working on a case against Mr Blagojevich for several years, charged him last Tuesday with a number of offences, including soliciting a bribe.
The US attorney's office released a 76-page FBI affidavit detailing the charges against Mr Blagojevich, which included transcripts of his telephone conversations intercepted by court-authorised wiretaps over several weeks.
Mr Burris is a fairly well-qualified candidate who has served as the state's attorney-general and there is no evidence that he tried to play any of Mr Blagojevich's games.
The most stunning charge is that Mr Blagojevich, who has the power to appoint Mr Obama's successor in the Senate, wanted to sell the seat to the highest bidder.
Adding to the complications, the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, has said he will refuse to certify the paperwork Mr Blagojevich must present to the Senate regarding Mr Burris's appointment.
The Senate's Democrats and Republicans both declared that they would not accept anyone who was nominated by Mr Blagojevich, who is in the process of being impeached by the Illinois state legislature.
He was state attorney general from 1991 to 1995 and made unsuccessful bids for the US Senate and the Illinois governorship, including in 2002, when he lost in the Democratic primary to Mr Blagojevich.
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