Dec 30, 2008 4:32 pm US/Central
Roland Burris: An Illinois Political Trailblazer
Burris Was First African-American Elected To Major Office In The State
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (left) introduces former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as his choice to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama during a press conference at the Thompson Center Dec. 30, 2008.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
When Gov. Rod Blagojevich picked Roland Burris to fill the empty Senate seat, he selected a seasoned politician with great name recognition across Illinois.
Burris was the first African-American elected to a major office -- before Harold Washington was mayor of Chicago and before Barack Obama even came to Illinois, Burris was a political trailblazer.
He was born in southern Illinois, earned a law degree, had a career in banking and was then elected Illinois comptroller in 1978. That election made him the first African American to win statewide office.
He easily won re-election twice with some of the biggest vote totals in Illinois history. The gentlemanly Burris had widespread appeal.
"He was someone who people who weren't African American could support. That's how he got his support," said Paul Green of Roosevelt University.
In 1990, Burris was elected Illinois Attorney General.
Dick Simpson, a political science professor at UIC, remembers that time well.
"He did well in both offices, particularly by Illinois standards. There were no scandals, no problems and he was able to represent the state well,"
Simpson said.
Then Burris hit a wall politically. He ran for governor three times and couldn't get out of the primary. The last campaign was against Blagojevich.
In 1995, Burris, who had always been a Democratic Party loyalist, made a run against Chicago's Democratic mayor.
Mayor Richard M. Daley cruised to re-election. Burris is now 71 years old, a lobbyist and lawyer hoping for one more shot at high political office.
"In normal times, in normal situations, this would be a no-brainer. Roland Burris paid his dues," Green said.
However, these are not normal times. One of Burris' main problems when he made his runs for governor and mayor was a lack of campaign money. He struggled to raise funds. Political analyst Green said it's clear Burris was not on the receiving end of "pay to play" deals.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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