White "Registers" The Burris Appointment (UPDATED w/VIDEO)

by Josh Kalven on January 02, 2009 - 11:47am

The chess game continues.

Today, Secretary of State Jesse White's office sent a letter to Roland Burris' legal team informing them that Gov. Blagojevich's Senate appointment had been registered, as required under state law.  Politico's Ben Smith got a copy of the memo, which read:

This letter is to inform you that the Office of the Secretary of State, pursuant to Section 305/5(2) of the Secretary of State Act, has made a register of the appointment of Roland Burris to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy left by President-Elect Barack Obama, specifying the person appointed, the office conferred, and the date of the appointment.

That's all well and good, but Section 305/5(1) is the actual sticking point.  It requires the Secretary of State to "countersign and affix the seal of state to all commissions required by law to be issued by the Governor."  That is what White has refused to do and what the Burris is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to compel him to do.  

So when will we hear back from the high court?  Who knows.  In the meantime, the Senate Democrats can say that the appointment is illegitimate until this state-level dispute is resolved.  If the justices grant Burris a "writ of mandamus" requiring White to affix the seal, then the ball will really be in the senators' court.  And it's pretty clear what they're going to do. 

UPDATE: White appeared on Fox New's Fox & Friends this morning to discuss the matter.  Watch (via Illinois Review):

Submit White "Registers" The Burris Appointment (UPDATED w/VIDEO) to Windy City Citizen
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Comments

Jim Slaton (not verified) on Sun, 01/04/2009 - 03:37

If Mr. Burris had an ounce of integrity he would simply decline the appointment.

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