SPRINGFIELD - Illinoisans sat down to supper Thursday evening with a new governor at the helm of state government.

In an unprecedented, but not unexpected, move, the Illinois Senate voted 59-0 to convict Rod Blagojevich of the impeachment article presented by the House and strip him of his powers as chief executive. They also voted unanimously to ban a man with presidential ambitions from holding public office in the future.

The 4:50 p.m. vote automatically made Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn the state's 41st governor. He will serve out the remaining two years of Blagojevich's term.

"The ordeal is over," Quinn said.

The dramatic transfer of power could signal a new era in the Democrat-controlled statehouse, which has been mired in gridlock for more than a year because of conflicts between the legislative and executive branches.

"We must lift this heavy dark cloud over our state. The only way this cloud can be gone is when Gov. Blagojevich is no longer the governor," said state Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa.

Blagojevich, accused of abusing his power, was not in the Capitol to hear the bell toll on his political career. He appeared in the Senate earlier in the day and delivered a 50-minute speech saying the allegations against him didn't merit his ouster.

"I never ever intended to violate any law," said Blagojevich, who ran for the office on the promise of fighting the kind of corruption that sent his predecessor, Republican George Ryan, to prison.

Blagojevich, 52, became the first Illinois governor to be removed from office. Although he'd had a troubled relationship with lawmakers for years, his problems snowballed Dec. 9 when he was arrested at his Chicago home on federal corruption charges.

He was in Chicago when the vote was taken, choosing to fly in and out of Springfield Thursday - a practice for which he often was criticized.

Blagojevich had shunned the impeachment proceedings, instead scurrying through a marathon series of television interviews designed to show the trial rules were unfair.

Impeachment prosecutor David Ellis called those claims unfounded and told senators to focus instead on Blagojevich's alleged attempt to sell the state's then-vacant U.S. Senate seat.

"It's an f-ing valuable thing," Ellis said, quoting the governor as alleged by federal prosecutors.

Senators said they convicted Blagojevich because of the criminal proceedings under way against him, as well as his failure to abide by the rules and laws of the state.

"He's trampled on our Constitution with his behavior," said state Sen. Tim Bivins, R-Dixon.

State Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, called Blagojevich a "devious, cynical, crass and corrupt politician."

State Sen. Frank Watson, R-Greenville, said Blagojevich would have been better served if his aides had sometimes told him "no."

"Who was there to say, 'Whoa. Wait a minute?' " Watson said.

State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, had expressed some doubt about the evidence in the early going of the trial, but he joined his colleagues in voting to get rid of the governor.

"The one thing that made me vote 'yes' was that the governor was not to be trusted and didn't seem to be able to move Illinois forward," Jacobs said.

State Sen. Bill Brady, a potential candidate for governor, said Blagojevich's ouster is yet another sign that corruption remains a problem in Illinois.

"Although we're closing this chapter today, our work is not done," said Brady, R-Bloomington.

Blagojevich acknowledged he'd had a rocky relationship with the legislature.

"I know sometimes I push too much and prod too much. I confess, maybe I fight too much," Blagojevich said.

But, he said his efforts were aimed at helping people.

"I believe in all of the evidence that has been presented to you ? you haven't proved a crime. How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?" Blagojevich said.

Senators said Blagojevich's speech was masterful, but it didn't alter the outcome.

"Obviously, he's somewhat disillusioned," Brady said.

"Much like his entertainment hero, Elvis Presley, this governor puts on a good show," Righter said.

Quinn, a 60-year-old attorney, said he's ready to assume the duties of governor. Along with serving as lieutenant governor for six years under Blagojevich, the Chicago Democrat was state treasurer from 1991 to 1995.

Quinn takes over at a time when Ilinois faces a massive backlog of bills a projected $3 billion budget deficit, and a slew of policies and initiatives imposed by Blagojevich but reviled by lawmakers.

Analysts say he will have his work cut out for him.

"You can't overstate the problems we have," said University of Illinois at Springfield political scientist Kent Redfield. "It's a terrible time to become governor."

kurt.erickson@lee.net|789-0865