House Democrats in large part supported two impeachment articles against President Donald Trump, charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois was one of three lawmakers who missed the historic House votes The Republican from the 15th congressional district is not seeking reelection and was on a long-planned trip to visit his son in Tanzania, where he’s serving in the Peace Corps.
Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis (R) says he fears the nearly party-line vote will set a new precedent for future political conflicts in Washington. The Republican from the 13th District, which includes Champaign-Urbana, condemns the impeachment vote as the first partisan one in U.S. history.
“And now we’ve entered into the true partisan political impeachment process,” said Davis. “And what will happen the next time we have a president that differs from a party in the House, you will see a partisan impeachment. And I certainly hope that we, as members of Congress, do everything we can to stop that.”
Davis says he voted against impeachment, because the process lacked a legitimate independent investigation and he did not see proof of a crime committed by the president.
Meanwhile, Davis’ Democratic challengers, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan and Stefanie Smith, both say they would have voted for impeachment.
Several Illinois Democrats spoke Wednesday on the floor of the House of Representatives, during the debate leading up to the vote to impeach President Trump. Democrat Robin Kelly represents the 2nd congressional district which stretches from Lake Michigan to Kankakee County. Kelly said she and her colleagues swore an oath to defend the constitution, and that impeachment was one means of doing so.
“A clear and present threat to American democracy is what brings us here,” said Kelly. “The architect: a president who asked that a foreign nation interfere in our election. This was our founding fathers’ greatest fear.”
Here’s how Illinois’ delegation voted:
District/Representative/Party/Vote
1st/Bobby Rush (D) voted yes on both articles
2nd/Robin Kelly (D) voted yes on both articles
3rd/Dan Lipinski (D) voted yes on both articles
4th/Jesus Garcia (D) voted yes on both articles
5th/Mike Quigley (D) voted yes on both articles
6th/Sean Casten (D) voted yes on both articles
7th/Danny K. Davis (D) voted yes on both articles
8th/Raja Krishnamoorthi (D) voted yes on both articles
9th/Jan Schakowsky (D) voted yes on both articles
10th/Brad Schneider (D) voted yes on both articles
11th/Bill Foster (D) voted yes on both articles
12th/Mike Bost (R) voted no on both articles
13th/Rodney Davis (R) voted no on both articles
14th/Lauren Underwood (D) voted yes on both articles
15th/John Shimkus (R) was not present for the votes
16th/Adam Kinzinger (R) voted no on both articles
17th/Cheri Bustos (D) voted yes on both articles
18th/Darin LaHood (R) voted no on both articles