Voting Station

Roland Burris

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Politician

The Resume

    (August 3, 1937- )
    Born in Centralia, Illinois
    Comptroller (1979-91) and Attorney General (1991-95) of Illinois
    Named by Governor Rod Blagojovich to fill the Senate seat vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama (December 30, 2008)
    Democrat

Why he might be annoying:

    He named his kids Roland II and Rolanda.
    He has already built a mausoleum to himself in a South Side Chicago cemetery, with the heading 'Trail Blazer,' a list of his accomplishments and space for future ones.
    After organizing Chicago's first Gun Turn-in Day, he admitted he kept a handgun at home and had not turned it over to police as he had urged others to do. A spokesman said Burris had 'forgotten about' the handgun.
    He ran unsuccessfully for US Senator (1984), mayor of Chicago (1995) and three times for governor of Illinois (1994,1998,2002).
    He dismissed his opponents for the Democratic nomination for governor as 'unqualified white boys.' (1998)
    His decision to accept the Senate seat from a governor who had been arrested for trying to sell it led many observers to suggest that his ambition had overridden his judgment.
    Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White refused to certify Burris' appointment as Senator, while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced the Senate would not seat Burris.
    It is legally uncertain if the Senate can refuse to seat Burris, thus threatening a court battle to settle the issue.
    Several of Burris' supporters have played the race card, ignoring the fact that White and Reid had declared their refusal to recognize a Blagojevich appointment for weeks before Burris was named.

Why he might not be annoying:

    As a 16-year-old, he tried to integrate the Centralia swimming pools.
    He was the first African-American elected to a statewide office in Illinois.
    He was named one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans by Ebony magazine each year from 1979 to 1995.
    Illinois Democratic consultant Don Rose noted, 'There's never been a breath of scandal about him.'
    Several politicians opposed to his taking a seat in the Senate said they would have gladly accepted him if he had been appointed by anyone other than Blagojevich.
    He said that if he is turned away from the swearing-in ceremony for new Senators, he will not make a scene: 'That is not my style. I am not seeking to be confrontational.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 72.73% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 28 Votes: 53.57% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 34 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 134 Votes: 52.24% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 26 Votes: 57.69% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 264 Votes: 59.85% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 940 Votes: 64.89% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 744 Votes: 67.47% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 58 Votes: 79.31% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 327 Votes: 81.96% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 492 Votes: 69.72% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 481 Votes: 54.47% Annoying