Race, Color, Burris, Blago and Politics

CHICAGO – as reported by the Wall Street Journal, Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin says a ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court over the credentials of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's Senate appointee has created an impasse and he urged that the filling of Mr. Obama's seat be put on hold pending the outcome of the state senate trial of Mr. Blagojevich. The Illinois Supreme Court refused to force Secretary of State Jesse White to sign a document relating to Mr. Blagojevich's appointee to the U.S. Senate, saying that the appointment was legally valid without his signature. The ruling would seem to throw the decision of whether to seat Roland Burris, a former state attorney general, back to the Senate. Earlier this week, Senate leaders barred Mr. Burris from a swearing-in ceremony because his paperwork lacked the signature. A day later, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated he would seat Mr. Burris, but only after he appeared before a House panel and won over Mr. White. Meanwhile, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, in a historic vote, the Illinois House has impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, directing the Senate to put the state’s 40th chief executive on trial with the goal of removing him from office. The vote by the House was 114-1 and marks the first time in the state's 190-year history that a governor has been impeached, despite Illinois' longstanding reputation for political corruption. Rep. Milt Patterson (D-Chicago) was the lone vote against impeaching the governor. Patterson, from Chicago's Southwest Side, said after the roll call that he didn't feel it was his job to vote to impeach the governor. He declined comment on whether he approved of the job Blagojevich is doing. Lets talk about this and other issues tonight.