Kernan assumes official power

As the Indiana Supreme Court transferred power to the state's lieutenant governor Wednesday morning, doctors for Gov. Frank O'Bannon said he is showing small signs of improvement.\nPhysicians said the governor, 73, is no longer in a drug-induced coma, and although he is still on a ventilator, he doesn't need it to breathe. \nHis arms and legs are responding to pain and the right side of his body has shown some purposeful movements. \nBut they still can't say how much function, if any, the governor will recover. \n"It's way too early to tell," said Dr. Wesley Yapor, a physician treating O'Bannon.\nAs the governor lies in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan now assumes O'Bannon's duties.\nAlready, Kernan has met with state agency heads, coordinated his new staff and attended an economic conference at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, said Andrew Stoner, O'Bannon's spokesman. \nSpeaker of the House Patrick Bauer and Senate Pro Tempore Robert Garton submitted a letter to the Indiana Supreme Court Wednesday morning, requesting that Kernan be named the acting governor. The Indiana Constitution allows the leaders of the state legislature to authorize a transfer of power if the governor is unable to voluntarily hand over his duties.\nAfter deliberating for an hour, the court approved the decision. \nBauer and Garton spoke with the governor's wife, Judy, and the governor's medical team before they signed off on the transition.\n"We wanted to make sure, absolutely sure, that the family was in agreement," Bauer said. "(Judy) is a very strong woman, a very spiritual woman and she gave us strength."\nMrs. O'Bannon issued her own statement Wednesday endorsing the decision.\n"We are so appreciative that the leadership of both the legislative and judicial branches has included us in their deliberations," she said. "We understand and fully support the actions being taken today."\nGarton emphasized that although O'Bannon will not have any responsibilities during his recovery, he is still the governor. Kernan remains the lieutenant governor, even as he assumes O'Bannon's duties. \n"There is no vacancy in the lieutenant governor's office," Garton said. \nO'Bannon suffered a massive stroke early Monday morning while in his Chicago hotel room, sometime between 7 and 8:30 a.m. Aides found him lying unconscious on the floor of his closet after they forced open the door to his room. He was rushed to nearby Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he underwent three hours of emergency surgery. \nTuesday, doctors said the governor had suffered brain damage. They have not pinpointed what caused the stroke.\nYapor said O'Bannon will be in the hospital for at least a few more weeks.\n-- Contact senior writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.