Who will choose Illinois’ next U.S. Senator? It ought to be the voters of Illinois on November 2, 2010, but some people have already demonstrated that they want to decide who will be a candidate, and who will eventually be seated.
Who will choose Illinois’ next U.S. Senator? It ought to be the voters of Illinois on November 2, 2010, but some people have already demonstrated that they want to decide who will be a candidate and who will eventually be seated.
The seat in question is the one that was vacated by Barack Obama when he was elected president of the United States. It is currently held by Sen. Roland Burris, who was appointed by deposed Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Carol Moseley Braun previously held it.
When the election results were clear on Nov. 4, politicians of every stripe were weighing in on just how that Senate seat should be filled. The constitutional duty of naming a replacement fell to the governor, and, as we now know, Blagojevich saw it as a “gold mine” for personal gain. But others saw political gain as well, and they sought to influence Blagojevich’s choice, even before the U.S. Attorney made a morning visit to his home.
It is disturbing that very early on, some politicians – including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid – had determined that the replacement should not be a Black person, reasoning that it would be difficult for a Black candidate to win statewide. Reid and his cohorts suggested to Blagojevich that Cong. Jesse Jackson Jr., Cong. Danny Davis, Obama confidant Valerie Jarrett and Chicago Urban League President and CEO Cheryle Jackson would not be viable candidates, even though some of those names enjoyed statewide recognition and all of them were eminently qualified.
Once Blagojevich was charged, and he named Roland Burris to the seat, Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin came out strong to challenge the appointment, with Reid even hinting that Burris would not be seated.
For his part, Sen. Durbin has been at the forefront of calling for Burris to resign after questions arose about how his appointment came about and has been quite visible in the process of touting other candidates. He was very early in the camp of state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, traveling to Greece with him. Recently, he has been linked to a possible candidacy of state Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
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