Decision on Burris' 'future and fate' likely to come this week

Reporting from Washington and Chicago — Roland Burris is likely to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate this week once the Senate's legal counsel completes a review, Assistant Majority Leader Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said Sunday.

The legal counsel is to evaluate additional paperwork today on Burris' appointment by impeached Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, Durbin told the Tribune.

Burris, 71, was appointed by Blagojevich three weeks after the governor's arrest on federal corruption charges, including that he tried to sell the Senate seat. He came to the U.S. Capitol to be sworn in with other senators last Tuesday but was turned away.

Although the Senate appeared to be inching closer to seating Burris, potential hitches remained. "This thing changes by the day," Durbin said.

Senate Democrats spent about a half hour discussing Burris' situation in a closed-door meeting Sunday. That resulted in Obama's chief economic advisor, Lawrence Summers, cooling his heels in a Senate hallway as he waited to discuss the president-elect's economic recovery package.

Durbin said that a decision by the Senate's legal counsel was expected today and that Burris, the first African American elected to statewide office in Illinois, was likely to be seated this week. Burris is a former state attorney general and a former state comptroller.

At issue are documents that Burris obtained Friday from Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's office. One document is a letter signed by Blagojevich announcing Burris' Dec. 30 appointment, which was filed with the secretary of state's office.

The other is a certificate signed by White and stamped with the state seal attesting that the accompanying Blagojevich appointment letter is a "true and accurate copy" of what was registered by the secretary of state.

Senate Democrats had maintained that without an appointment certified by the signatures of both Blagojevich and White, Burris could not take the Senate seat. White's refusal to sign the appointment was the prime reason senators offered for turning Burris away last Tuesday.

Originally, Democrats vowed not to seat anyone appointed by Blagojevich, who was arrested Dec. 9 on federal corruption charges.

Obama initially sided with Senate Democrats and urged Blagojevich to resign. But last week he quietly urged senators to settle the issue, which had become a distraction from his economic stimulus proposal.