Politics

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The showdown over Barack Obama's Senate seat appears to be over tonight. Roland Burris expects to be sworn-in this week. It's a stunning about-face for Senate leaders. Two weeks ago, they rejected his appointment as "tainted."

Burris was quick to say Monday that there's no such thing, legally, as a taint. He said his motivation to serve in the Senate had nothing to do with the scandal surrounding Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He said Illinois needed two senators seated at the start of the new congressional session.

"I believe the dawn is near and brighter days are ahead,'' Burris said.

"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,'' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin said in a statement Monday.

"Accordingly, barring objections from Senate Republicans, we expect Senator-designee Burris to be sworn in and formally seated later this week."

"I am truly honored that I will be officially sworn in later this week as Illinois senator,'' Burris said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports that Republicans aren't happy about the decision to seat Burris.

"It's really hard to understand what the real purpose is, but what's clear is two-thirds of people in Illinois wanted a special election," said Ill. Rep. Party Chairman Andrew McKenna. "Leading Democrats supported it, we supported it, but it didn't happen."

Illinois leaders argued a special election would cost too much money. But some voters say all of this has already cost the state.

"I think it's a horrible blemish on the state of Illinois," said Chicago voter Tom Tyralski. "It makes us look bad. People don't want to relocate here. People assume it's a corrupt state. It hurts business. It hurts people in the state of Illinois."

"I think he'll be all right as a senator," said Illinois voter Shaunika Brown. "He's doing a good job so far, so why not?"

Burris hopes to convince the skeptics.

"I wish you all could see our telephone calls, I wish you all could see what has come into our home and into our offices from all over the country," Burris said. "People are congratulating us. And certainly there are individuals that might have some problems with that, but I take the positive. And I'm very uplifted by all of those wonderful things that my family and other friends have heard across America, so there is no such thing as taint."

Earlier today, Burris cleared a key hurdle in his quest to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate, dispatching his lawyers to the Capitol with formal paperwork designed to persuade Democrats to accept his appointment.

The two sides met privately to break the impasse that has plagued Senate Democrats.

CBS 2's Mike Parker reports the paperwork includes a document with an official state seal, signed by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White confirming that Burris's appointment letter from the governor has been formally registered.

Burris said White is "an honorable man'' and has been unfairly criticized during the entire episode. White refused to sign a document with Blagojevich's signature that named Burris to the seat, but he said Monday in a statement that he welcomes Senate Democrats' decision to seat Roland Burris.

White says the U.S. Senate "acted appropriately" in seating the former Illinois attorney general. And he believes Burris will do a "fine job" as the state's junior senator.

The scandal-tainted standoff has stretched into the new Congress' second week in session, serving as a distraction for Democrats trying to start the year off right and tackle an ambitious agenda.

It includes weighty tasks like holding confirmation hearings for Obama's new Cabinet while negotiating both the second installment of last fall's financial bailout and the president-elect's mammoth new spending plan aimed at jolting the economy.

Blagojevich, under investigation for allegations that include seeking to trade Obama's Senate seat for personal favors, surprised Senate Democrats over the holiday break when he appointed Burris to succeed Obama in the Senate.

Senate Democrats, who had worried that any appointee would be tainted by Blagojevich, have been grappling with how to proceed ever since. They rejected Burris last week only to reverse course a day later after Obama himself privately weighed in and senators fretted that the situation was diverting their focus.

Some Burris supporters accused Sen. Durbin of playing what they call "political ping pong" with the Burris appointment.

Burris was in Chicago on Monday as his representatives were presenting documents to Reid.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled last week that under state law, Burris' appointment is valid and that it's up to the Senate to decide whether to seat him.

But Reid and other Democrats have said that unless the appointment is signed by both the governor and the Illinois secretary of state, it violates Senate rules.

Reid has said the Senate would vote on whether to seat Burris after Senate lawyers review the documents and Burris' testimony before an Illinois House impeachment panel in which Burris said he promised Blagojevich nothing in exchange for the seat.

Burris thanked Senators Durbin and Reid and said he looks forward to working with them, and learning from them.

CBS 2's Mike Parker and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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