Burris Continues Raising Cash, Still Deciding on 2010

In spite of some serious financial woes, U.S. Sen. Roland Burris is still trying to raise money for a potential re-election bid in 2010 and says he'll make a decision on that race soon. Burris held his first fundraiser yesterday here in Chicago but the money he pulled from that event will go towards paying off his $111,000 in debt he's racked up so far since taking over the U.S. Senate seat once held by now-President Barack Obama. One aide told the Tribune they hope to have raised about $50,000 from yesterday's event. But there's even more debt for Burris as he claims he's also dug himself a $500,000 hole in legal fees.

Still, Burris and those around him insist money won't be an issue when considering if he's going to run in 2010. Said the Senator himself, "It's not a matter of money. It's just a matter of my feeling comfortable that I've gotten my Senate legs under me and I grasp the issues very well as to what's happening in the United States Senate, and that will make the determination." His media adviser Delmarie Cobb said, [This fundraiser is] the start and we're going to be very aggressive from this point on and the whole idea is to raise money very quickly—as quickly as possible." Cobb, who the Trib reports supported Hilary Clinton in the 2008 presidential primaries, appeared to take a swipe at Obama (or even Durbin) by saying of Burris, "We should be happy as Illinois citizens, because now we actually do have a senator who wants to be there."

Cobb also addressed the current investigation into Burris possibly committing perjury in front of a state house panel in January over his interaction with then-governor Blagojevich. Said Cobb, "We had to ask him to stop talking because he was trying to be too truthful. When you try to be truthful sometimes you just keep digging a hole because everything you say to explain the other thing you just said becomes fodder for the media or your detractors."

Yes. A politician being too truthful. Happens all the time. [Tribune, WBBM]