Roland Burris

Roland Burris
Official portrait, 2009
United States Senator
from Illinois
In office
January 12, 2009 – November 29, 2010
Appointed byRod Blagojevich
Preceded byBarack Obama
Succeeded byMark Kirk
39th Attorney General of Illinois
In office
January 14, 1991 – January 9, 1995
GovernorJim Edgar
Preceded byNeil Hartigan
Succeeded byJim Ryan
3rd Comptroller of Illinois
In office
January 8, 1979 – January 14, 1991
GovernorJim Thompson
Preceded byMichael Bakalis
Succeeded byDawn Clark Netsch
Personal details
Born
Roland Wallace Burris

(1937-08-03) August 3, 1937 (age 87)
Centralia, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseBerlean Miller
Children2
EducationSouthern Illinois University, Carbondale (BA)
Howard University (JD)
Roland Burris's voice
Burris speaks in support of the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act
Recorded February 25, 2009

Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937)[1] is an American retired Democratic politician and attorney who served as Attorney General of Illinois from 1991 to 1995. In January 2009, he was appointed a United States Senator, succeeding Barack Obama, who resigned to become president of the United States.[2] Burris held this position until November 2010, retiring from front-line politics shortly after.[3]

In 1978, Burris was the first African American elected to statewide office in Illinois, when he was elected Illinois Comptroller. He served in that office until his election as Illinois Attorney General in 1990. Since then, he has unsuccessfully run for office four more times.[4]

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich appointed Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama as the junior senator from Illinois. The appointment was controversial, as the governor was already under investigation and there were rumors of his being paid for the appointment.[5][6] Burris succeeded Obama as the U.S. Senate's only African American member.[7] He was briefly a candidate for election to a full term but withdrew before the Democratic primaries in the 2010 elections.[8]

  1. ^ Bell, Debra (January 5, 2009). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Roland Burris". U.S. News & World Report.
  2. ^ "Gov. appoints Burris as Senate replacement". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "Burris won't run for a full Senate term". Canton Repository. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  4. ^ Slevin, Peter (February 19, 2009). "Clouds Gather Over Roland Burris". The Washington Post. p. A01. He wanted to end his career with a statewide office", said friend, traveling companion and WVON radio host Cliff Kelley, who recalled Burris becoming upset when others were mentioned as potential Obama successors and he was not. "He really wanted this. He never thought he'd get it, but he was hoping for it.
  5. ^ Phillips, Kate (May 28, 2009). "Senator Burris in the Cross-Hairs of 'Hardball'". The Caucus. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  6. ^ Flanagan, Jason (May 27, 2009). "NYT: Taped Phone Call Reveals Sen. Burris (?-IL) Promised Check to Gov. Blagojevich (?-IL)". Washington Examiner. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  7. ^ Sidoti, Liz (January 15, 2009). "Burris takes his place as Obama's Senate successor". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
  8. ^ "Judge's Ruling Keeps Burris Out of Special Election". Roll Call. August 2, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2024.