Will Roland Burris, once he is seated in the U.S. Senate, be able to win the confidence of the people of Illinois?

No

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by Roberto Alvarez-Galloso

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I have decided to write about Roland Burris while he has the time to reflect on his political future. For those who are unaware of what has happened, there will be a short introduction.

The State of Illinois was the scene of a scandal in which former Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich was arrested for charges of mail fraud and attempting to sell the Senate Seat vacated by Barack Obama after he was elected President. Rod Blagojevich was freed only to face an impeachment trial.

During the scandal, Rod Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris to the Senate seat while the Illinois Legislature did not want to recognize the appointment. Mr. Reid threatened to block Burris from the Senate door. Reid was forced to relent after a series of telephone calls surfaced in which he told Blagojevich that "Burris nor Jesse Jackson Jr. were not winnable candidates" and that he "preferred Lisa Madigan". This was taken as racist ans sexist on the part of Reid.

Roland Burris was appointed Senator and Rod Blagojevich was booted out as Governor of Illinois after an impeachment trial. Blagojevich sis not have one vote in his favour. Roland Burris appeared to be heading towards life as a Senator. The saga was to take a turn for the worst.

Roland Burris revealed in an afidavit that Blagojevich's brother called him and asked for $10,000 in contributions for Rod Blagojevich. The fact that he was appointed Senator by Blagojevich could have been construed as a conflict of interest. CBS 2 Chicago reporter Mike Flannery and the Associated Press reported about a group of African American pastors having lost confidence in Burris and asking for his resignation.

Accordin g to a report from CBS 2 Chicago reporter Pamela Jones, the Governor of Illinois Pat Quinn is hoping Roland Burris will step down as Senator. While it will not be denied that Burris may fight to maintain his Senate Seat, I would have preferred to resign and maintain my dignity. Mr. Burris has already lost the confidence of the people of Illinois for his participation in the conflict of interest that was presented to him by Blagojevich unless he can prove otherwise.

The lessons to be learned is that the politicians of the Status Quo cannot be trusted and that there has to be a departure from the conflict of intesrest that exists in the society of the USA.

Reference:

http:/ /cbs2chicago.com/pol itics/roland.burris. rod.2.940557.html

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