An Illinois House panel unanimously recommended Gov. Rod Blagojevich be impeached Thursday, as state lawmakers said the governor had betrayed the public trust and can no longer perform the duties of his office. 

The committee, wrapping up weeks of testimony, now tosses its recommendation to the full House, which could take action Friday. 

If the House impeaches Blagojevich, he will become the first impeached governor in Illinois history. The Senate would then conduct a trial on whether to remove Blagojevich from office.

The 21-member committee began studying impeachment after the Democratic governor was arrested on a variety of federal corruption charges.

The panel based its recommendation on those charges and other allegations of misconduct by Blagojevich. They include evidence he circumvented state hiring laws, misspent tax money and expanded programs without proper authority. The impeachment is a separate process from the criminal proceedings and could proceed even if Blagojevich is never indicted. 

Blagojevich has denied any wrongdoing. His office released a statement late Thursday saying the panel's proceedings were "flawed" and "biased" since his team could not subpoena witnesses or cross-examine them. He said the impeachment recommendation was a "foregone conclusion" since the committee released its draft report hours earlier. 

"In all, the governor's rights to due process were deprived. When the case moves to the Senate, an actual judge will preside over the hearings, and the governor believes the outcome will be much different," the statement said. 

Blagojevich's attorneys left the hearing before the committee voted. 

One by one, committee members aired their grievances against the governor, and explained why the evidence showed the full House should take up impeachment. 

"He is mortally wounded politically and cannot lead our state," said state Rep. Jack Franks, calling the governor a liar. "His political life is over." 

Rep. John Fritchey said the governor showed he considers himself "above the law." 

"The citizens of this state must have confidence that their governor will faithfully serve the people and put their interests before his own," the committee's report said. "It is with profound regret that the committee finds that our current governor has not done so." 

Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on federal charges that include allegations he schemed to profit from his power to name President-elect Barack Obama's replacement in the Senate. 

While the governor maintains his innocence, the report notes he did not appear before the committee to explain himself. "The committee is entitled to balance his complete silence against sworn testimony from a federal agent," it says. 

The committee's report recounts the federal charges, relying on a sworn affidavit from an FBI agent describing tape-recorded conversations in which Blagojevich discussed using the seat to land a job for himself or his wife. The second-term governor also is quoted on the need to hide any evidence of a trade-off. 

"The committee believes that this information is sufficiently credible to demonstrate an abuse of office of the highest magnitude," the report says. 

It also lays out allegations separate from the criminal charges -- that Blagojevich expanded a health care program without proper authority, that he circumvented hiring laws to give jobs to political allies, that he spent millions of dollars on foreign flu vaccine that he knew wasn't needed and couldn't be brought into the country. 

The panel voted after Roland Burris, the governor's appointee to Obama's Senate seat, testified that he did not engage in any improper deal with the governor in exchange for the appointment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.