Pat Quinn: Illinois' Lieutenant Governor, Future Governor?

Check back for updates. For more up-to-the-minute info on the Blagojevich scandal, check out Huffpost's Rod Blagojevich Big News Page

UPDATE 12/10

President-elect Barack Obama has called on Rod Blagojevich to step down, making it even more likely that Pat Quinn will take over as governor of Illinois.

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Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn received a burst of attention following Monday's arrest of Governor Rod Blagojevich in a corruption scandal.

In a press conference called to discuss the charges, Quinn, a Democrat, called for the governor to step aside because he is "seriously impeded from carrying out his oath of office."

"I think that should certainly be considered by the governor today. I think he knows what he needs to do for the people."

Despite campaigning with Blagojevich in 2006, Quinn became an outspoken critic of the governor and said at the news conference that the two had not spoken since 2007.

Last week, after reports that Blagojevich had been taped by the FBI first surfaced, Quinn called for the governor to "level" with people:

"I think the governor has a short period of time to come forward and level with the people of Illinois," Quinn said.

The recent attention has already crashed Pat Quinn's site, standingupforillinois.org. Another Pat Quinn campaign website is still active, though dated.

Ben Smith at the Politico has an interesting insight on the Pat Quinn situation:

Quinn will likely make the choice of who fills Obama's seat. He has a bit of a reputation as a reformer, if not a pure one, but I haven't heard a particularly clear read on what this means about the seat -- Illinois readers, tell me what you think.

A tough time for Democratic governors, in any case: The two biggest states with Democratic governors, New York and Illinois, now both appear likely to be run by the Lieutenants.

Quinn is not to be confused with another Pat Quinn, a former head coach of the Toronto Maple Leaves.