Politics

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced his choice to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, but that does not mean former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris will be taking office.

As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, until Tuesday, debate about the vacant Senate seat centered largely around whether Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn should be able to appoint a replacement after presumably taking over as governor, or whether a special election should be held. Then Blagojevich and Burris appeared together in a stunning news conference.

"I'm absolutely confident and certain that the U.S. Senate is going to seat someone of Roland Burris' unquestioned integrity, extensive experience, and his long history of public service," Blagojevich said at the news conference.

Burris himself says he hopes people will draw a distinction between his appointment and Blagojevich's legal troubles.

"We will certainly depend on the great people of this state to recognize the difference between Roland Burris' appointment and the problems with Governor Blagojevich," Burris said in an interview with CBS 2's Rob Johnson Tuesday evening.

Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on charges that included trying to sell Obama's Senate seat. On Tuesday, he also emphasized that he and Burris are different people.

"Please don't allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man," Blagojevich said at the news conference.

Burris also emphasized to CBS 2 that Blagojevich remains governor, and is constitutionally allowed to appoint someone to the seat.

"The appointer has the legal authority to make the appointment. It doesn't put any conditions on what conditions he has to be under to make the appointment," Burris said. "The 17th Amendment of the United States Constitution says that should there become a vacancy in a Senate seat, that the executive of the state can appoint a replacement."

But while Blagojevich may retain the authority to make the appointment, that does not mean his appointment will be accepted. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has said he would not certify anyone appointed by Blagojevich. Furthermore, Democratic U.S. Senators said they would not accept anyone Blagojevich appointed.

In a statement Tuesday, Senate Democrats maintained that Blagojevich should not make the appointment because it is unfair to Burris, unfair to the people of Illinois and ultimately won't stand.

"It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic Senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety," the statement said.

"Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus."

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said Blagojevich's decision to appoint Burris is an "insult to the people of Illinois."

"We believe in clean government, and Rod Blagojevich has unclean hands," Quinn said.

President-elect Obama also came out against the appointment.

He said in a statement Tuesday: "Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it."

But some elected officials are defending the decision, among them U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), who came out of the crowd at the Tuesday news conference and noted that Obama's departure leaves the chamber without a black member.

We need to have not just one African-American in the U.S. Senate," Rush said Tuesday. "We need to have many African-Americans in the U.S. Senate."

Within the first two minutes of Rush's impromptu speech, the issue of race and Burris' appointment surfaced. Within another three minutes Rush slammed critics of the move, using the racially charged word "lynch".

"And I would ask you," Rush said to the reporters gathered at the news conference, "to not hang or lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer."

Blagojevich himself repeated Rush's statement as he left the news conference, turning attention to himself.

"Feel free to castigate the appointer, but don't lynch the appointer," Blagojevich said. "I'm not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing."

No Senate Democrat responded to Rush's challenge. And they got support from President-elect Barack Obama, who ignored Rush and restored the framework of the dispute: Blagojevich's alleged corruption.

On Friday morning, some voters said the governor's move surprised them, but they don't know if the appointment will stick.

"It's perfectly legal what he did, and like I said, I have no problem with the choice," said Michael Moore. "I think he'll be an excellent Senator, but I doubt he'll sit in the seat."

"I don't think Blagojevich should make any appointment right now," said Ralph Childs.

"I think he should go ahead and resign," said Marisa Pipplon.

"He's the governor. I believe, at this point, he has the right to make the appointment so Illinois will have two Senators," said Myron Goldstein. "Whether the Senate will seat him or not, that's up to them."

Burris was the first black politician elected to major statewide office in Illinois and has connections across the state. He's a native of Centralia in southern Illinois who graduated from Southern Illinois University before earning his law degree from Howard University.

Burris served as Illinois' comptroller from 1979 to 1991 and as the state's attorney general from 1991 to 1995. He also served as vice-chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1985 to 1989.

More recently, however, Burris has had a string of political disappointments.
He lost campaigns for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1994, 1998 and 2002 -- the last time losing to Blagojevich. In 1995, he was badly beaten when challenging Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in the primary.

Before taking public office, Burris worked in banking and served as national executive director and chief operating officer for Operation PUSH, the Chicago-based civil rights organization.

He failed in his first brush with politics -- a 1968 run for the Illinois House. But five years later, his political service got him appointed as an aide to Gov. Dan Walker.

Burris has been a consistent donor to Blagojevich, giving thousands of dollars to his campaign in recent years. Burris donated $1,000 to the Friends of Blagojevich fund in 2005, $1,500 in 2007 and, $1,000 in June 2008, according to Illinois campaign finance data.

On a national level, Burris has given to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as several members of the Illinois congressional delegation, including Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

Burris earlier this month said the charges against Blagojevich outline "appalling" and "reprehensible" behavior.

In an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press, Burris said he "absolutely" stands by those statements. But he wouldn't say whether the governor should resign.

CBS 2's Joanie Lum and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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