It was no secret that Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration was under federal investigation, including for an alleged scheme to squeeze kickbacks out of companies seeking state business.

But news that the 51-year-old governor was arrested Tuesday for essentially trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder — even though he knew about the ongoing probe — left many Illinoisans stunned by the sheer audacity of the allegation.

Emotions ranged from sadness and disbelief to embarrassment and even elation.

"What surprises me ... was just how absolutely brazen and unsubtle this was," said one-time political rival Rich Whitney, who as a Green Party candidate from Carbondale unsuccessfully tried to unseat Blagojevich in 2006.

He called on Blagojevich to resign immediately "for the good of the state."

"This is just staggering — that Gov. Blagojevich would be speaking in these stark terms that this Senate seat is up for sale ... we've got enough problems with state government without continuing to operate now with more than a cloud over the governor. This is a hurricane over his head."

A 76-page FBI affidavit said the 51-year-old Democratic governor was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife, Patti.

Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field, according to a federal criminal complaint. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired.

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna said that the state's General Assembly should move swiftly to impeach Blagojevich if the governor did not immediately step down, adding that Blagojevich must not appoint a U.S. senator "under this cloud of extremely serious allegations."

"While there is a presumption of innocence, in these troubling economic times, the people's work should be placed ahead of Governor Blagojevich's legal troubles," McKenna said.

Christine Radogno, a Lemont Republican who becomes the state Senate's GOP leader next month, found Blagojevich's legal troubles "just incredibly sad and embarrassing for the people of Illinois," especially because it comes as Blagojevich's predecessor, Republican George Ryan, serves a 6-year prison sentence for a racketeering and fraud conviction.

In Chicago, Blagojevich's hometown, workers inside Chicago office buildings stopped to watch the news unfold on big-screen televisions. Cab drivers blared the new on their radios.

Blagojevich neighbor Suzy Thomas, a 55-year-old Real estate agent who lives a block from the governor's house, said she was not "totally surprised" by the arrest because of the well-publicized investigation and because she knew he'd been watched.

"But I was really surprised at the allegations of trying to sell the Senate seat," she said. "I thought that was pretty blatant to do. But unfortunately, you know, it's kind of politics as usual in Chicago and Illinois.

"Now we're the top state for number of governors who've been indicted. It's a little scary."

Others said they wanted more details before saying whether Blagojevich should stay or go. That included Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn, a Democrat whose long-standing feuding with Blagojevich has included failed pushes for a constitutional amendment that would allow for the recall of elected officials.

But some residents were more than happy to celebrate the legal mess of a governor whose approval ratings had plummeted in recent years.

In Springfield, the state capital that has often felt disrespected by the governor who made his home in Chicago, radio station WMAY-AM opened its 9 a.m. talk show with "The Hallelujah Chorus" and U2's "Beautiful Day."

"What first comes to mind is, it's about time," crowed Steven Poe, the 54-year-old owner of East Side Marine in Springfield.

"It seems as if downstate doesn't exist," Poe said. "You can't even get him to spend a night in the governor's mansion."

In Pontiac, where townspeople are fighting the governor's plan to close the local 570-worker prison, Mayor Scott McCoy says he initially felt holiday joy about Blagojevich's tangle.

"I'm thinking, holy cow, Christmas came early," McCoy said.

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