Results tagged “senateappointment”

In an announcement that probably surprises no one, new U.S. Senator Roland Burris has admitted that then-Governor Rod Blagojevich's brother hit him up for a $10,000 donation to Blago's campaign fund. Burris insists that the request came before his controversial Senate appointment and that he didn't make the contribution. Still, it was an instance that Burris apparently forgot to mention when he was questioned - under oath - by a state house committee investigating the impeachment of the then-governor.

At 1 p.m. Chicago time this afternoon, Roland Burris will be officially sworn in as The Lord's Senator™ by Vice President Dick Cheney, ending a several-month-long saga that has been lively even by Illinois standards. Burris will be seated without any protest from any senate leaders in spite of a litany of threats earlier in the process. While Burris faced an uphill climb to gain acceptance from his soon-to-be colleagues, the current Senators promise they'll treat him like any other freshman senator. By duct taping him to his office chair and rolling him down the hall? "Like any other senator, he'll have to learn the ropes and not get lost getting to committee hearings, like I have. I think he'll come in with people open to meeting with him and getting to know him. I think it will be just fine," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn). Oh. Senators also are looking for Burris to distance himself from Blaogjevich once he is seated, saying a call for Blago's resignation could go a long way towards helping his cause, especially if he intends to keep his seat in 2010.

Poor Jesse White. No matter what he does, Roland Burris is going to be seated as Illinois' junior senator. White himself admitted that his signature - or lack thereof - is more ceremonial than anything. Speaking to WGN Radio's John Williams, White said today, "They could have seated him without my signature; my signature is not required...My signature is mostly ceremonial, rather than a point of law." For the record, White said he no personal issue with Burris but that his gesture was one of protest against Blagojevich, fulfilling his promise to reject any appointment made by the embattled governor. Click here for the entire interview [mp3].

Painting by our own talented Lauri Apple