CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said today that he's boycotting his impeachment trial next week because the process is unfair, not because he's being defiant.

At a news conference in Chicago, he said his constitutional rights are being trampled under the Senate rules because he cannot call the witnesses that he wants.

He also accused fellow Democrats of wanting him out of office so that they can move forward with plans to raise income taxes. Republicans want him out, he said, so that they have an issue on which to campaign when taxes go up.

Blagojevich faces a Senate impeachment trial starting Monday that will determine if he's to remain in office. The Senate rules bar testimony from anyone federal prosecutors say would jeopardize the criminal corruption trial against the two-term governor.

Blagojevich is accused of, among other things, scheming to benefit from his power to name President Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate.

He has denied any wrongdoing.