Illinois Secretary of State ‘Certifies’ Affirms Burris Appointment
[Guest post by DRJ]
The Politico reports the Illinois Secretary of State signed a statement affirming the appointment of Roland Burris as Senator replacing Barack Obama. The action followed today’s decision by the Illinois Supreme Court holding that no further action (other than the registration of the appointment by the Secretary of State, an act that occurred December 31, 2008) was required to validate Blagojevich’s appointment of Burris:
“Under the Secretary of State Act, the Secretary’s sole
responsibility was to register the appointment (15 ILCS 305/5(2)
(West 2006)), which he did. No further action is required by the
Secretary of State or any other official to make the Governor’s
appointment of Roland Burris to the United States Senate valid under Illinois law.”
Thus, the Illinois Supreme Court denied Burris’ request for mandamus — that is, Burris’ request for an order directing the Secretary of State to certify his appointment — but Burris will likely prevail anyway because the Court held certification isn’t required to make the appointment valid.
Bottom line: The Senate may still claim certification is required under its rules but I doubt it will. If so, Burris could be seated next week.
UPDATE: I’ve changed the title to make it clear that, in accordance with the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision, the Secretary of State “affirmed” Burris’ appointment but did not certify it.
— DRJ
Politico is just plain wrong.
Burris and his cohorts paid the Secretary of State’s office for a “certified” copy of the appointment certificate. They received a copy of the appointment certificate AND a separate piece of paper with the Seal of the State of Illinois and Jesse White’s signature attesting that the other piece of paper is a “true and correct” copy of the original on file in the Secretary of State’s office.
kimsch (2ce939) — 1/9/2009 @ 8:56 pmkimsch,
I agree that The Politico used the wrong word when it said the Secretary of State had “certified” the appointment, and that’s why I said in the text that the Secretary of State “affirmed the appointment.” In essence, the Secretary of State provided a copy of the appointment with a seal — an act that is consistent with what the Supreme Court held would be sufficient to satisfy the legal requirements under Illinois law and under the Senate rules.
DRJ (345e40) — 1/9/2009 @ 9:27 pm[…] Associated Press, Reuters, Power Line, Bloomberg, TPM Election Central, Jack & Jill Politics, Patterico’s Pontifications and Ed Driscoll.com (Via […]
B-Rod gets the A-OK from the Illnois Sec. of State | Political Byline (e78bc3) — 1/10/2009 @ 1:39 amDRJ, but it might not satisfy the Senate. The certificate that the Senate requires has not been signed by White. The Senate could waive their rules, but as Reid said, they haven’t ever done so.
kimsch (2ce939) — 1/10/2009 @ 9:09 amHo hum, another corrupt Chicago pol in the Senate. Why is this a good thing again?
Subotai (a36d45) — 1/10/2009 @ 10:30 amComment by Subotai — 1/10/2009 @ 10:30 am
You’ve got to wonder how reliable a vote for Reid a Senator Burris would be after all that has transpired?
AD (4de33d) — 1/10/2009 @ 10:35 amPlus, if the deal was he is just a place-holder, why go with the flow, WTF!
Why is the media not asking more questions about Burris and the Blagojevich’s relationship
JM (ef37f8) — 1/10/2009 @ 10:37 amThere have been several news stories lately that I feel the media does not ask the right questions:
Burris claims no money – yet he contributed to Blagojevich’s campaign
Blagojevich’s wife has a relationship with a entity that burris is or was part of
Digg people Digg
So the ball is now squarely in Harry Reid’s court; his attempt to dump all of the responsibility/blame in the IL Sec. of State’s lap has failed . . . and, with Inauguration Day looming, he WILL cave.
Icy Texan (b7d162) — 1/10/2009 @ 10:48 am