BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Burris aims to put mark on history
Resistance ebbs among Senate Democrats toward the appointee of the embattled Illinois governor.
CHICAGO— Roland W. Burris has erected a grand mausoleum for himself, inscribed with the words “TRAIL BLAZER” and a long list of his accomplishments, with a space left for his more recent achievements. That gap soon could be filled in with “U. S. senator.”
The tomb is a monument to the ambition — some say egotism — that led him to accept what many regard as a tainted prize: appointment to the Senate by scandal-ridden Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.
“Roland wants an office. It’s another thing to chisel on his Ramses II pyramid,” said Judy Baar Topinka, a former Illinois state treasurer and Republican candidate for governor. “His ego,” she added, “is huge.”
The 71-year-old Burris accepted the appointment with no publicly expressed reservations, despite charges that Blagojevich had tried to sell the seat. And Burris fought for the seat after Senate Democrats vowed not to allow him to take office. Wednesday, the Senate leadership backed down, and Burris appears likely to be seated.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate’s second-in-command, said Sunday that he is moving away from resisting Burris as Presidentelect Barack Obama’s successor and hopes a resolution to the disagreement will be reached soon.
Burris said he and his lawyers will be in Washington today to begin paving the way for him to join the Senate. But Durbin said lawyers still need to sign off on Burris’ paperwork and review his testimony before the Illinois House, which later impeached Blagojevich on corruption charges.
“I started off obviously skeptical, as all of the Democratic members did,” Durbin said on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “But as time has gone on and we’ve looked closely, we want to be fair to Roland Burris. If he has the proper certification and papers, then we’re going to take one look at the process and move forward from there.”
Senate Democrats have opposed Burris’ appointment because of the federal charges against Blagojevich. Although they have argued that any Blagojevich appointee is tainted because of the scandal, no one has accused Burris of wrongdoing.
Burris can fairly call himself a trailblazer. The Democrat was the first black politician elected to major statewide office in Illinois, serving three terms as the state’s comptroller beginning in 1979 and a single term as attorney general in 1991.
But to many who know him, his acceptance of the Senate appointment is no surprise. Some say he has a large ego, even by the outsized standards of politicians.
In addition to constructing a big mausoleum, he etched it with practically his entire resume, recording, among other things, that he was the first black Southern Illinois University exchange student to attend the University of Hamburg in Germany and the first black national bank examiner for the U. S. Treasury Department.
In 1984, when he ran unsuccessfully for the Senate, he mused: “Illinois is the Land of Lincoln. Maybe someday it will be the Land of Burris.” He often speaks of himself in the third person. And he named his children Roland and Rolanda.
Former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson, a Republican, said political calculation, rather than ego, may be driving Burris this time. The appointment, Thompson said, is a chance for Burris to gain high political office without having to compete in an election, something Burris has not had much luck at since 1990. He has lost his last four elections: three tries for governor and one for Chicago mayor.
“He’s got a chance to be one of 100 people in the world,” Thompson said.
Fred Lebed, Burris’ consulting business partner, said his longtime friend simply wants to serve his country and the people of Illinois. “We all have egos. This is definitely not his motivation. It is truly about public service,” Lebed said.
In arguing that he deserved to take a seat in the Senate, Burris made his case in his usual mild-mannered way and did not publicly try to portray the dispute as a racial matter, the way some other black Democrats did.
He has denied making any kind of corrupt bargain with Blagojevich to secure the appointment. And by nearly all accounts, he served ably and honestly during his many years in Illinois state government.
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