By Jonathan Allen and Kathleen Hunter, CQ Staff

The arrest Tuesday of Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich throws a cloud over the process of replacing President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate.

Federal authorities accuse Blagojevich, a Democrat, of trying to sell the appointment to the seat in exchange for favors that included jobs for him and his wife, a Cabinet nomination or campaign contributions. Obama resigned effective Nov. 16.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., called on Illinois officials to act swiftly to develop a different process for choosing Obama’s successor. And the state legislature appeared ready to do just that.

The Illinois House will meet Monday and Tuesday to consider legislation that would provide for a special election to determine Obama’s successor, according to an aide to Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who is a Democrat.

Reid said, “The charges against Governor Blagojevich are appalling and represent as serious a breach of the public trust as I have ever heard. It is clear that anyone Governor Blagojevich appoints to the Senate will fairly or unfairly be tainted by questions of impropriety. A different process to select a new senator must be put in place – and that process should not involve Governor Blagojevich.”

FBI wiretaps on Nov. 5, the day after Obama was elected president, caught Blagojevich talking about his determination to get something in return for any Senate appointment. “I’ve got this thing and it’s [expletive] golden and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me in there,” Blagojevich said, according to the federal criminal complaint released Tuesday.

Under the state constitution, Blagojevich has sole power to name a replacement to fill out the rest of Obama’s term, which runs through 2010. Unless he is convicted, impeached or admits guilt of an “infamous crime,” he will retain that power, said a lawyer with the State Board of Elections.

If Blagojevich were to resign or be removed from office, that power would fall to Democratic Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn, who called on the governor to “do the right thing” and “step aside.”

Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin , Illinois’ other Democratic senator, said he the state legislature should quickly pass a law providing for a special election to replace Obama, calling that “the only way out at this point.

“No appointment by this governor under these circumstances could produce a credible replacement,” Durbin said. “A special election is costly, I know. But the alternative of a vacancy or a tainted appointment — those alternatives are not acceptable.”

The Senate could refuse to seat anyone appointed by the governor in light of the charges, since it is the judge of its own membership.

Reps. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. , Danny K. Davis , Jan Schakowsky and Luis V. Gutierrez have been mentioned as possible replacements for Obama. Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and state Senate president Emil Jones have also figured prominently in the speculation. Valerie Jarrett, a longtime Obama confidante, was also a potential candidate, but she has been tapped as a senior White House adviser.

Jackson, who has openly campaigned for the seat, said he met Monday with Blagojevich for the first time in years to discuss “my hopes and unique qualifications for succeeding President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.”