Lawmakers moved closer to impeaching the Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, with the attorney general Lisa Madigan asking the state’s highest court to strip the scandal-plagued governor of his powers.

Blagojevich, a two-term Democrat, and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested on Tuesday on charges of conspiracy and soliciting bribes in a sprawling criminal case that also involves accusations that the two conspired to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

About her request to the Supreme Court, Madigan said: “I recognize that this is an extraordinary request, but these are extraordinary circumstances.” She argued in court papers that “the pervasive nature and severity” of the corruption case against Blagojevich had rendered him “incapable of legitimately exercising his ability as governor.”

In an extraordinary constitutional showdown, Madigan likened the disgraced governor’s corruption scandal to a debilitating illness, ramping up pressure on him to resign. The attorney general is applying a rule that was intended to cover cases in which a governor is incapacitated for health reasons. The move seeks to hand power over to the lieutenant governor.

Madigan, a Democrat who for years has had a strained relationship with Blagojevich. Some political critics questioned her decision to turn to the Supreme Court for removing Blagojevich, suggesting that she might be positioning herself as a future governor, a job she has been known to be interested in.

Meanwhile, Blagojevich continued to defy calls for his resignation on Friday, signing a bill into law and meeting at home with several ministers. He took time to pray with ministers at his home and signed a bill that extends insurance coverage for autistic kids, sending a sign to his critics that he is still in charge.