That’s the question many are asking as the embattled governor continues to show up for work even after President-elect Barack Obama, every other statewide elected official, many other high-ranking state and national Democrats and heads of governmental watchdog groups have called for him to step down.

“We need to get rid of Rod Blagojevich,” said Jay Stewart, head of the Better Government Association in Chicago.

“If he doesn’t resign we need to impeach.”

Resignation would be the simplest way, allowing Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn to take over all executive responsibilities, including the power to appoint Obama’s successor, but Blagojevich has given no indication that he’s planning to do so.

The other option, impeachment and removal from office, is the safest, most legal option.

It’s also the messiest and most time-consuming option, making it the least desirable for those gung-ho to give the heave-ho to a leader few believe can continue to lead.

To remove the governor this way would require a simple majority of the house to impeach and a two-thirds majority in the senate to convict.

To avoid the mess of an impeachment, state officials are considering a few other ideas, options which may push the limits of the constitution.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Friday that she plans to ask the Illinois Supreme Court to declare Blagojevich temporarily unfit for office, an option some legal experts say has no constitutional basis.

“I’m amazed she’s doing it. It’s a terrible idea,” said Ann Lousin, an expert on the Illinois constitution at the John Marshall School of Law.

The law, Lousin said, requires the governor to be found mentally or physically unfit for office. Since the governor is physically able to hold office, Madigan would have to prove that Blagojevich has descended into a deluded mental state, Lousin said.

The alleged corruption outlined in the criminal complaint calls into question the state of the governor’s ethical standing, but his mental standing, so far as observed publicly, seems sound.

One well-respected Democrat, Abner Mikva, a former federal judge, White House counsel, congressman and state legislator who now teaches law at the University of Chicago, said he's troubled that the state has to rely on constitutionally uncharted waters, but added that given the magnitude of the complaint prosecutors have outlined against Blagojevich, removal is acceptable.

Mikva said Madigan's request to remove the governor should be temporary, giving federal prosecutors time to indict Blagojevich and the legislature the opportunity to impeach, without having Blagojevich free to act as governor.

He supports Madigan’s plan for two basic reasons.

First, Mikva said, "He's hardly entitled to the practical presumption of innocence that the average citizen is because these are the words out of his own mouth."

Second, he said, "This is the minimum interference with the electoral process to allow the state to move."

State legislators are discussing the possibility of bypassing the governor and holding a special election to fill the open senate seat, another option fraught with legal hurdles and one that has drawn critics.

“Here’s the problem with that,” said Robert Rich, director of the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs in Urbana. “That law has to be signed by the governor and he has 60 days to sign or not sign. He could also take the law to the Supreme Court and say that this is unconstitutional.”

The state constitution gives the governor sole right to fill a vacated senate seat, bringing into question whether there are any legislative options available other than impeachment.

Of course there’s nothing stopping Blagojevich from filling the senate seat right now, and legally, his appointee, if that person accepted the position, would become senator.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid threatened not to seat any senator appointed by Blagojevich, but some reports question whether he has the power to do so.

Lousin said the rush to remove the governor, who has yet to be indicted, is premature.

“All of these calls for resignation are based on the affidavit of a single FBI agent. Does that make you happy?”