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. more ›

U.S. Senate lawyers relented this afternoon and declared that Roland Burris's credentials met the chamber's rules and could be seated as the junior senator from Illinois. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin issued a joint statement, saying: "Barring objections from Senate Republicans, we expect Senator-designee Burris to be sworn in and formally seated later this week...We have spoken to Mr. Burris to let him know that he is now the Senator-designate from Illinois and as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a Senator-elect." more ›