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CAT Tracks for February 21, 2009 THE ROLAND BURRIS WATCH

Going once...

Illinois Governor Urges Senator to Quit and Calls for a Law on Special Elections

By MONICA DAVEY

CHICAGO — Gov. Patrick J. Quinn of Illinois on Friday called on Senator Roland W. Burris to resign and urged state lawmakers to set up a mechanism for a special election.

It was the clearest sign yet that even those within Mr. Burris’s own Democratic Party believe he cannot survive the growing questions surrounding his appointment and are, once again, pondering the possibility of a new junior senator for the state.

“I would ask my good friend, Senator Roland Burris, to put the interests of the people of the land of Lincoln first and foremost, ahead of his own, and step aside,” Mr. Quinn said, echoing calls made in recent days by the state’s treasurer, its comptroller, some state lawmakers and others.

“Under the current circumstances where our state needs a strong voice in Washington on so many different issues,” Mr. Quinn said, “I don’t think it’s in the public interest or the common good to have a U.S. senator who has to spend an undue amount of time going over and over matters with respect to how he obtained the office.”

Mr. Burris, who spent the day in previously planned closed-door meetings at a veterans’ medical facility and a naval training center in suburban Chicago, is not considering resignation, said his spokesman, Jim O’Connor. “The senator has asked the public and officials to stop their rush to judgment and allow all of the facts to come out,” Mr. O’Connor said.

In Washington, Robert Gibbs, the spokesman for President Obama, said, “I think it might be important for Senator Burris to take some time this weekend to either correct what has been said and — and certainly think of what lays in his future.”

Mr. O’Connor said Mr. Burris, 71, would return to Washington next week.

A standoff between a troubled politician fighting on and a chorus of leaders imploring him to quit has become familiar here.

Last month, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, who federal authorities say tried to sell the Senate seat vacated by Mr. Obama, was impeached after refusing to quit and was replaced by Mr. Quinn.

But leaders here said they saw a less certain course for Mr. Burris, whom Mr. Blagojevich appointed after his arrest, and was seen as a relatively benign choice until this week when he disclosed his efforts to raise money for Mr. Blagojevich as he was pressing the governor to appoint him.

Investigations, including one before the Senate Ethics Committee — which, in extreme cases, can recommend expulsion from the Senate — are under way, but could take weeks or months.

Republican state lawmakers are pushing for legislation to hold a special election this spring that they say could, in effect, replace Mr. Burris before the normal term expires at the end of 2010.

“Please, please stop subjecting the state to being a national embarrassment,” State Senator Matt Murphy, a Republican, said on Friday in urging Democrats, who dominate both chambers in the State Capitol, to adopt the idea.

Democrats question whether they can legally make such a move. Some, including Mr. Quinn, instead want Mr. Burris to resign, Mr. Quinn to make a temporary appointment and for legislation to be passed allowing voters — not governors — to pick new senators through elections within 115 days of a Senate vacancy.

The matter is complicated and, for some, tinged with elements of race. In December, when critics first objected to Mr. Burris’s appointment because of the accusation against Mr. Blagojevich, some leaders here pointed out the dearth of black senators and suggested that Mr. Burris, who was once the first black person elected to statewide office here, was an appropriate choice.

Many state and city leaders have remained silent on the matter, while others said they would wait for results of the outside inquiries.

John J. Cullerton, the State Senate president, said through a spokeswoman that Mr. Burris should step down if he knew he had done something wrong, but that “absent that admission of guilt, the investigation should continue.”

Going twice...

From the CNN Political Ticker

Burris's top aide resigns

From CNN's Dana Bash and Mark Preston

WASHINGTON (CNN) – As pressure continued to mount Friday for Sen. Roland Burris to resign his seat, the Illinois Democrat’s top aide stepped down and returned to his position with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Darrel Thompson made no mention as to why he was returning to Reid’s office other than to say he was “temporarily detailed” to Burris, and added “I wish Senator Burris and his family the best.”

Burris has come under fire from Democrats, Republicans and even the editorial pages of some newspapers for his conflicting accounts about his contact with associates and the brother of impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Earlier in the day, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn called on Burris to resign and be replaced through a special election.

A Democratic leadership aide, who asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the matter, said that Thompson was left with no choice but to resign.

"In light of the conflicting statements he felt it was something he could no longer help out with," said the source.

Rodell Mollineau, a Reid spokesman, said that “Senator Reid appreciates the work that Darrel did for Senator Burris and is glad to have him back.”

Thompson, one of Reid’s top aides, went to work for Burris when the Illinois Democrat was sworn-in earlier this year to fill the remaining two years of President Barack Obama’s Senate term.

As for Burris’s future, Mollineau said Reid, a Nevada Democrat, supports a full accounting of this matter.

“What we do know is that there is a process in place that includes reviews by the Illinois state officials and the Senate Ethics Committee and Senator Reid agrees with that,” Mollineau said. “Senator Reid believes that the appropriate procedures should play out and let all the facts come to light.”