Thread: Senate rejects Burris, but law may be on his side

The would-be senator from Illinois, named by a tainted governor, vows to fight on.

By Amanda Paulson | Staff Writer / January 6, 2009 edition
Chicago

He wasn’t sworn in with his class on Tuesday, but it’s looking more likely that Roland Burris will replace Barack Obama as the next junior senator from Illinois.

The Senate leadership has vowed to keep him out, and in Illinois, lawmakers and officials are fuming at the chutzpah of their governor, Rod Blagojevich, who faces criminal corruption charges and impeachment, in appointing a senator. Racial politics have added a new political wrinkle to the imbroglio.

But Mr. Burris, a former attorney general and comptroller in Illinois and a noted African-American politician, seems to face few legal hurdles that will stop him from eventually taking the office, though his credentials were rejected because the Illinois secretary of state had refused to sign the requisite paperwork.

“It seems pretty clear he’s entitled to be seated,â€

The Senate leadership objected to seating Franken because the results are still facing legal challenges.

In the U.S. Senate, Republican leadership has stated that they will not allow Franken to be seated "while the race is still in doubt."

Dixie