Out he should go ... Newest senator needs to be shown the door

There are times when "I'm sorry" is not enough.

And the case of newly appointed and already incredibly controversial Illinois Sen. Roland Burris is one of those times when there is no need to waste taxpayer money investigating.

It is time to throw the guy out.

Burris, under oath, said that he did not have any connection with troubled former governor Rod Blagojevich. During a recent press conference, he slipped, and said that he helped try to raise money for the governor who is accused of trying to sell Barack Obama's then-empty Senate seat.

In a state that is already reeling from losing its governor in such an embarrassing manner, that is simply too much.

This is a case where there is already doubt that anything can be done on the up and up in Illinois government. Burris' appointment, and the selection of a new governor, were supposed to put this state back on track.

Instead, there are more questions.

An honorable man would not have wiggled his way into the Senate appointment in the first place.

But now it is clear Burris needs to step down. He cannot serve the citizens of Illinois or this country fairly. Simply put, he is part of the problem.

Published in Editorials on February 18, 2009 11:03 AM