Illinois Supreme Court denies former Sen. Burris' appeal

It would've been very messed up if this had actually went through. In fact while following a little bit the legal drama around Pres. Obama's old Senate seat I really thought it was settled when Mark Kirk won not only the special election to fill President Obama's full term, but also the general election for a full six-year-term. Had little idea former Sen. Burris wanted to overturn it all:

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the petitions of two former elected officials from Illinois in a legal fight spawned by the appointment of a replacement for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat.

After hearing the case in September 2010, the 7th Circuit rejected U.S. Sen. Roland Burris' bid to appear on the ballot in a special election for Obama's seat.

The fight stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Illinois voters Gerald Judge and David Kindler.

Shortly before the Chicago-based federal appeals court issued its ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Burris' bid to stop the special election from taking place without his name on the ballot.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich had appointed Burris to fill Obama's vacant Senate seat until the state Legislature ordered a special election. That order never came, prompting the lawsuit in May 2009.

A federal judge ruled that the appointment was temporary, and that Burris would serve as Obama's replacement until the winner of the general election takes office on Jan. 3.

None of the articles I have seen so far had truly explained the issues of the case I was going to use this brief AP blurb that alerted me to this story:

Months after Illinois' new senator took office, the Supreme Court says it will not consider overturning the election of President Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate.

The high court on Monday turned away an appeal from former Illinois Sen. Roland Burris, who was appointed to the seat but did not get chance to run for a full term. The justices also refused to hear an appeal from state officials who objected to a court order to hold a special election as well as a regular election for Obama's old seat

When I first heard about this special election I was perturbed. I pretty much said let Burris serve out the rest of Obama's old term. It would simply be easier that way. And we also see how much time it takes for the courts to make a decision. It would've been terrible to overturn (if possible) what the people had chosen for the next 6 years.

I say all this with the idea that Blago appointing our former state Comptroller and Attorney General was a mistake and it was unfortunate that Bobby Rush latched onto this like it was the only chance we had to keep a black in the US Senate. No one seemed to scream when Burris wasn't going to be able to complete Obama's term.

Well that being said, I look forward to the future. A Black can be elected to the Senate one day. Two more serious candidates tried last year one here in Illinois didn't quite make it out of the Democratic Primary and the other in Florida lost last November. Hopefully we can find one who is not only electable but is able to maintain that seat.

I broached this subject once before, but it's time for an expansion of that particular subject.