Connecticut Governor John Rowland will announce his resignation tonight: Gov. John G. Rowland intends to announce his resignation tonight at 6 in a televised speech to the state, nine days before the deadline for the House impeachment committee to recommend if he should be removed from office. Rowland, 47, the target of a federal criminal investigation and Connecticut's first gubernatorial impeachment inquiry, made his decision Saturday after consulting with his lawyers, sources said. "We decided there were no options left. [Resignation] was an option that had been on the plate for a long period of time, and I think the [Supreme Court] decision Friday sealed it," one adviser said today. The state Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision Friday, upheld the validity of the House impeachment committee's subpoena for Rowland's testimony, leaving the governor with no realistic options other than defying the committee. As the target of a federal investigation, Rowland could not afford to testify, possibly jeopardizing his defense in a criminal case. Avoiding testimony by asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination would have been a political defeat. Sources close to Rowland said they have no idea how the resignation will factor into the ongoing grand jury investigation into corruption in his administration. Rowland's resignation is not part of any deal with federal prosecutors, who have told other targets of their investigation that indictments are possible this summer... Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell was notified this morning of his decision, as aides were asking the television stations for time for Rowland to address the state. WTNH, Channel 8, reported the story first. Impeachment hearings were to resume today. In interviews with The Courant Friday, committee members indicated that, at a minimum, they had concluded the governor was guilty of repeated ethical violations. Let's not let Rowland's shameful personal ethical violations, for which an accounting appears to be on the way, distract us from the shameful violation of ethical principles written into public policy in Connecticut's budget, a legacy which falls on the rest of us to reverse. I'm yet to see any signs, unfortunately, that Lt. Governor Jodi Rell's agenda is any more progressive than that of her boss.