Roland Burris

Roland Burris was a Democrat representing Illinois in the U.S. Senate from 2009 to 2010. Burris was appointed by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill the Senate seat vacated by then President-Elect Barack Obama. At the time of Burris' appointment, Gov. Blagojevich was under-investigation for allegedly attempting to sell Obama's Senate seat.

Positions, record and controversies
When the Senate convened on January 7, 2009, Roland Burris had not been approved by the Democratic leadership and his paperwork was rejected by the Secretary of the Senate prior to the opening of the 111th Congress.

On January 12, 2009, following a week of negotiations, Senate Democrats said Burris would be seated in the United States Senate. Burris, while awaiting a determination of his fate, testified before the Illinois state legislature while that body was deliberating impeachment of Blagojevich. In addition, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Burris' appointment met the requirements of state law, even though the Secretary of State had not signed Burris' certification.

Bio
Burris was born and raised in the small community of Centralia in southern Illinois. Burris was a 1955 graduate of Centralia High School (CHS). He attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He was an exchange student on scholarship to study International Law at the University of Hamburg in Germany. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Howard University School of Law in 1963.

Political career
From 1979 to 1991, Burris was elected to the office of comptroller of Illinois. He was the first African American to be elected to a statewide office in the state of Illinois. Burris was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 1984, losing to Paul Simon who went on to defeat incumbent Senator Charles Percy.

From 1991 to 1995, Burris was Attorney General for the State of Illinois, where he supervised over 500 lawyers. There, he was the second African American elected to a state office of Attorney General in the United States. In 1994, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Illinois.

In 1995, he ran for mayor of Chicago, losing to incumbent Richard M. Daley. In 1998 and 2002, he again unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Governor of Illinois, running in 2002 against, among others, Rod Blagojevich. During his 2002 run for governor he was supported by, among others, President-elect Barack Obama.

On December 30, 2008, Gov. Blagojevich announced Burris was his choice to fill the Senate seat left vacant by then President-elect Barack Obama. Burris came to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2009, to be sworn into office, but he was turned away from the Senate chambers. On January 15, 2009, after Senate leaders had agreed to seat him and after the Illinois State Supreme Court ruled in his favor, Burris was sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney.

The seat comes open in 2010, so if Burris wishes to retain it, he must compete in a Democratic primary in February, 2010, and then if successful, a general election the following November.

Investigation into Blagojevich appointment
After being appointed to the Senate, but before being sworn into office, Burris was asked to testify before the Illinois House panel then engaged in impeachment proceedings against Governor Rod Blagojevich. Burris filed an affidavit dated January 5, 2009 stating that he had not had any contact with Blagojevich or anyone involved in the Blagojevich campaign concerning the Senate seat. On January 8, 2009, Burris testified in person before the impeachment committee. Asked if he had spoken with anyone "closely related to the governor, including family members or lobbyists connected with him," Burris, after consulting his lawyer, named only former Blagojevich chief of staff Lon Monk.

Over a month later, on February 14, 2009, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Burris had sent an additional affidavit to the head of the Illinois House impeachment committee dated Feburary 5 revealing that Robert Blagojevich, Rod Blagojevich's brother, had spoken with Burris three times in October and November 2008 about raising funds for the then-Governor. Initially, Burris stated that he refused to contribute to the campaign, saying that "it would be inappropriate and pose a major conflict because I was interested in the Senate vacancy." However, a few days later Burris offered yet another version of events, telling reporters that he had in fact contacted several people about holding a fund-raiser, but that he had abandoned the idea because of lack of interest. According to this version, it was not until their final conversation that Burris told Robert Blagojevich that his interest in the Senate seat prevented him from raising money for the then-Governor.

In response to these revelations, the Senate Ethics Committee has opened a preliminary investigation into Burris' conduct. Additionally, Illinois State's Attorney John Schmidt has begun to look into possible inconsistencies in Burris' statements relating to his Senate appointment.

Currently Burris is under investigation by The Senate Ethics Committee and the Illinois Sangamon County State Attorney for continually changing his testimony regarding his appointment to the vacant Illinois Senate seat left by President Barack Obama. He has given more than three different explanations for his appointment to the seat, with one explanation include how he raised money for Gov. Rod Blagojevich. While Burris did not claim he spent money on legal fees, he has stated he has accumulated more than $500,000 in legal fees surrounding his appointment to the Illinois Senate seat.

External resources

 * See how you compare to Roland Burris

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Prairie State Blue - Statewide Illinois Progressive Politics Blog