After just a few months in office and having fiercely resisted calls for his resignation, Illinois Senator Roland Burris has decided Congress is not his calling after all.
The Chicago Democrat appointed to fill the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama plans to announce on Friday he won’t seek election to a full six-year term in 2010. Word leaked out a day early, with sources in Chicago and Washington confirming Burris’ plans to forgo the midterm election.
The Chicago Sun-Times broke the news, reporting that Burris had raised only about $20,000 toward what undoubtedly would have been a very expensive campaign. The newspaper also quoted a source as saying that Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, was concerned about his legacy.
He entered office under a big cloud that never cleared. Burris was appointed on Dec. 30 by former Governor Rod Blagojevich, who later was impeached and indicted on corruption charges — including trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat.
Burris escaped a perjury charge last month when prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence aganist him. Burris declared his appointment “perfectly legal” and said he had never offered the ousted governor anything.
For more Reuters political news, click here.
Photo credit: Reuters/Frank Polich (Burris reacts to audience applause after speaking at a Chicago, church in March)
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3 comments so far
Thought he’d get buried if he ran.., do ya’ suppose?
- Posted by Richard CraniumMaybe he knows we already know his facial expressions are telling us he is lying?
oh wait, the trial is coming.ahh
- Posted by IanI am not the judge and jury of Senator Burris or of John Edwards or of any of the members of
- Posted by Jay AdlerCongress who have been in the news lately as being under scrutiny and more to come. I started
throwing up a trial balloon laced with plenty of speculative conjecture. The Democrats are so
livid concerning Dick Cheney possibly protecting the entire country by simply scotching a vital
report so that if leaked may have caused our citizens great harm. Maybe Mr. Cheney may have felt
that with the evidence of tomfoolery running through the personal lives of these politicians who
have been fingered, he mummed up so that the information did not wind up in some chorus girl’s
tape recorder or in a bag man’s receptacle. My wife and kids are alive and well. Whatever you did
Mr. Cheney, Thank you.
http://blogs.reuters.com/ffrontrow/wp-co mments-post.php7/12/2009