BOSTON - State Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei said Wednesday that state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson's resignation will allow the Senate to move forward with its business and hinted that the Senate would have voted to expel her if she hadn't stepped down.

"It's a relief that Senator Wilkerson finally decided to resign today," Tisei, a Wakefield Republican, wrote on the Senate Republicans' blog. "Clearly, the fact that the Senate had voted unanimously to ask for her resignation showed that she has lost the support of her colleagues. I believe the Senate would have taken additional action had she not stepped down voluntarily."

Tisei said that Wilkerson, who faces charges of accepting $23,500 in bribes, violated a code of conduct among elected officials.

"The Senate as an institution is far more important than any of us as individuals," Tisei said. "As elected officials, we must adhere to a higher standard of conduct and we must never bring disgrace on our office or abuse the public's trust. Sen. Wilkerson betrayed that trust, and is now paying the consequences for her actions."

"Now that Senator Wilkerson has resigned," he added, "the Senate can turn its attention to restoring the public's faith in this venerable institution."