Senate Vows Not To Seat Blagojevich Pick

by Albert Milliron | December 30, 2008 at 11:12 am

202 views | 20 Recommendations | 0 comments

By Albert N. Milliron, Editor, Politisite.com, Iron Mill Interactive Media, Inc.

Illinois Governor Blagojevich held a news conference at 3 p.m. ET and announced his pick to replace President Elect Obama's Senate seat. He seated Roland Burris, who would be the only African-American Senator. The AP is reporting that the Senate will not seat Blagojevich's pick. The problem comes that if this man is qualified, it would be difficult for the Senate not to seat a qualified African-American to the seat. If the pick is then excepted, the Senate send the messages that the Governor still has authority.

See 3 p.m. News Conference

Blagojevich to name Obama successor

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday will name former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate, sources familiar with the decision say.

Burris' appointment would fill President-elect Barack Obama's former Senate seat. Blagojevich is to announce his choice at a news conference at 3 p.m. ET.

Burris, 71, is African-American. Earlier this month, he said that despite the scandal associated with the seat, he wanted the job.

The Illinois Secretary of State related to reporters that Blagojevich's pick to replace the seat vacated by Obama will not be certified.

Roland W. Burris

(born August 8, 1937) is an American politician and statewide officer in the U.S. state of Illinois. Burris served as Comptroller of Illinois from 1979 to 1991 and as Attorney General of Illinois from 1991 to 1995. He now maintains a political consulting firm called Burris & Lebed Consulting, LLC. On December 30. 2008, Governor Blagojevich apparently planned to appoint Burris to fill the Illinois seat in the United States Senate vacated just weeks earlier by then President-elect Barack Obama. Any such appointment must be certified by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and accepted by the United States Senate itself, both of which seem uncertain in the wake of the arrest and ongoing FBI investigation of Blagojevich