March 5, 2009

 On November 4^th 2008, I  gathered with friends, family and several supporters to celebrate election night in America. Personally, I was very grateful, humbled and honored to be elected to the office of state representative. But I also gathered around the T.V. with others in my campaign office and felt immense pride as Illinois’ own Barack Obama was elected President.  For the first time in a long time, an Illinois politician was making headlines around the world for all the right reasons: breaking down barriers of the past, bringing fresh ideas on how to solve our problems and providing hope in a time of uncertainty. It was a proud night for Illinois.

Unfortunately, the new image of Illinois as the home of the President was soon to be tarnished by the embarrassing spectacle of Rod Blagojevich. The now disgraced former governor imploded in a wave of foolish scandals that highlighted his arrogance and ignorance and gave Illinois a black eye for months to come. The problem only seemed to be exacerbated by Blagojevich’s open defiance of every state and national official as he dared to make an appointment to open the Senate seat that, just weeks earlier, he was caught on tape trying to sell. His appointment of Roland Burris remains a questionable one, as does Burris decision to accept the appointment in the wake of a scandal that has literally become a national joke.

I don’t dislike Roland Burris; to be honest I do not know the man very well. My hat is off to him for his years of service as Comptroller and Attorney General and the barriers he broke by winning those elected offices. But Mr. Burris is not above the law and he is not entitled to the Senate seat he currently occupies. He was allowed by state and national leaders to take the appointment only after he testified, under oath, before a House committee that he did not have contact with the Blagojevich camp about fundraising or any other contact that could be seen as the appearance of impropriety. Now he has changed his story several times, each time releasing a little more information about his questionable contacts with Blagojevich insiders.

Enough is enough. Illinois has been embarrassed for too long by this circus of lies and half truths that have come from both Blagojevich and Burris. The former governor will meet his fate, likely in a federal courthouse, but Burris should do the respectable thing and resign his seat. He has been seated in the Senate under a false pretense based on his own omission of the truth. If we are to repair our great state’s image and begin the process of rebuilding the people’s trust in their state government, we must start by making a clean break with our corrupt past. Roland Burris made himself part of that disgraceful legacy when he failed to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. For the good of all, he should resign immediately.