Blagojevich appoints Obama Senate successor

L t. Gov. Pat Quinn said Blagojevich's decision to appoint Burris is an "insult to the people of Illinois."

"We believe in clean government, and Rod Blagojevich has unclean hands," Quinn said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid earlier this month warned the Illinois governor that if he tried to appoint someone to the seat, "we would be forced to exercise our Constitutional authority under Article I, Section 5, to determine whether such a person should be seated." Meanwhile, Democratic sources told NBC's Chuck Todd Tuesday that Burris is not an acceptable choice.

Reid's warning was included in a letter written earlier this month, signed by all 50 sitting Democratic senators.

White, who handles the state's paperwork, said he would not formally certify any appointment made by Blagojevich "because of the current cloud of controversy surround the governor."

It's not clear whether White's administrative hurdle would be enough to prevent a Blagojevich appointment from taking effect.

Burris, 71, was the first black politician elected to major statewide office in Illinois and has connections across the state. He's a native of Centralia in southern Illinois who graduated from Southern Illinois University before earning his law degree from Howard University.

Burris served as Illinois' comptroller from 1979 to 1991 and as the state's attorney general from 1991 to 1995. He also served as vice-chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1985 to 1989.

More recently, however, Burris has had a string of political disappointments.

He lost campaigns for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1994, 1998 and 2002 — the last time losing to Blagojevich. In 1995, he was badly beaten when challenging Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in the primary.

Before taking public office, Burris worked in banking and served as national executive director and chief operating officer for Operation PUSH, the Chicago-based civil rights organization.

He failed in his first brush with politics — a 1968 run for the Illinois House. But five years later, his political service got him appointed as an aide to Gov. Dan Walker.

Burris has been a consistent donor to Blagojevich, giving thousands of dollars to his campaign in recent years. Burris donated $1,000 to the Friends of Blagojevich fund in 2005, $1,500 in 2007 and, $1,000 in June 2008, according to Illinois campaign finance data.

On a national level, Burris has given to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as several members of the Illinois congressional delegation, including Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

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