UPDATE 1-Illinois official asks court to oust governor

(Adds quotes, ripple effects of legal problems)

By Andrew Stern and Michael Conlon

CHICAGO Dec 12 (Reuters) - Illinois' top legal officer went to the state supreme court on Friday to try to get scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich temporarily removed from office.

The unprecedented move by Attorney General Lisa Madigan came as Blagojevich showed no sign of resigning three days after his arrest on charges of swapping political favors for cash, including an attempt to sell the U.S. Senate seat Barack Obama gave up after he was elected president last month.

Blagojevich's chief of staff, John Harris, who was charged with the same offenses as Blagojevich on Tuesday, resigned on Friday.

Madigan, a Democrat like the governor and Obama, told a news conference that a provision of the state law, although never before invoked, allows her to seek the governor's removal through the court.

Madigan said she had asked the court for a temporary restraining order declaring the governor disabled and taking away most of his official powers, turning them over to the Democratic lieutenant governor.

"We recognize the court may be reluctant to take up this matter," she said, since it calls for a broad interpretation of a law that demands action when the governor is "disabled."

"I know these are extraordinary requests but these are extraordinary circumstances," she said.

"State government is paralyzed by a governor who is incapable of governing," Madigan said. "Obviously, the people of Illinois would be best served by the governor resigning immediately."

The state has compiled $4.5 billion in unpaid bills and has had to postpone borrowing in the debt market "indefinitely" because Madigan will not certify debt issues due to the governor's legal problems, state Comptroller Dan Hynes said.

"We don't know if he's in a position to sign those documents. On Tuesday, he was in a holding cell," Hynes said.

He said suppliers may soon refuse to extend more credit to state-run nursing homes, prisons, hospitals, and police.

The charges against Blagojevich come after years of investigation detailed by court-approved wiretaps but the governor has not been indicted and remains governor with full powers. Through his lawyer, Blagojevich has denied doing anything wrong.

OBAMA SENATE SEAT UP IN AIR

The selection of someone to fill Obama's Senate seat remains in limbo. All 50 members of the U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus told Blagojevich in a letter on Wednesday to resign and under no circumstances make an appointment to fill the seat.

If the Illinois supreme court removes Blagojevich, Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn has said he would appoint a replacement for Obama in the Senate rather than hold a special election next year.

Obama and a host of other elected officials have told the 52-year-old governor to resign. The state legislature was to meet next week to consider impeachment or passing a law to fill the Senate vacancy by special election, instead of leaving it the sole prerogative of the governor as at present.

Abner Mikva, a former judge and congressman who is advising Madigan, said the current legislature's tenure expires soon and the new one does not convene until mid-January.

"I think this is the least invasive way to take care of this problem," he said of enlisting the state supreme court.

Blagojevich met with clergymen at his home on Friday but showed no sign of yielding to demands that he resign and later left the house without answering questions from reporters.

The Rev. Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church in Chicago said he and two other Baptist pastors initiated the visit to Blagojevich on Friday and found him "very receptive and very gracious and very hospitable. He was in an upbeat mood and offered us coffee and juice.

"It was a pastoral call," Acree told Reuters, aimed also at offering comfort to the governor's wife and two children to "offer prayer and hope."

The federal charges allege Blagojevich tried to trade the Senate appointment for personal gain and muscle the Chicago Tribune into firing critical editorial writers by interfering in a deal involving the sale of Wrigley Field, the baseball stadium owned by the newspaper's parent company. (Additional reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by Peter Bohan and Philip Barbara)