Obama urges Illinois governor to step down

By Michael Conlon and Andrew Stern

CHICAGO (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama called on the governor of Illinois to resign on Wednesday after he was charged with trying to sell Obama's U.S. Senate seat and swap favors for money.

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Gov. Rod Blagojevich needed to step down because "under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois."

There were mounting calls within Obama's home state of Illinois to strip Blagojevich of the power to make the appointment he allegedly tried to barter, either by driving him from office through legal means or letting voters fill the Senate seat with a special election.

Obama, who takes office on January 20, resigned from the Senate after winning the November 4 presidential election.

The Democratic governor showed no sign of stepping down after he was arrested at home before dawn on Tuesday and then released without having to post bail.

His office said Bob Greenlee, one of three deputy governors in appointed positions, had resigned. No reason was given.

Obama, who called the charges against the two-term governor sobering and sad, has had a cool relationship with the fellow Democrat -- who has been under investigation on other issues for years -- although both of their political careers sprouted in the often corrupt seedbed of Chicago politics.

In Washington, Jesse Jackson Jr., a U.S. congressman from Illinois who waged a public campaign to win Obama's seat, said he did nothing wrong in his quest.

His lawyer identified Jackson as the unnamed Senate hopeful in a government wiretap whose "associate" Blagojevich claimed was willing to raise $1 million in exchange for a Senate seat.

"I did not initiate or authorize anyone at any time to promise anything to Gov. Blagojevich on my behalf," the son of veteran civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson said.

"I never sent a message or an emissary to the governor to make an offer, to plead my case or to propose a deal about a U.S. Senate seat, period," he added.

GOVERNOR UNDER SIEGE

The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times newspapers ran nearly full-page editorials demanding the immediate resignation of Blagojevich.

He left his stately brick house in Chicago on Wednesday, his 52nd birthday, under siege by news media but said nothing.

"It's outrageous," said Beth Pinter, who lives a block away and was out walking her two dogs. "He should resign, but he won't because he's a sociopath ... I don't want him in my neighborhood because he's a crook."