(Originally posted on February 17 at  8:36 pm)

Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago) has now appeared on WTTW's Chicago Tonight on two consecutive nights to discuss the ongoing Roland Burris fiasco.  And in both cases, she's been on point.  Yesterday evening, she not only noted Rep. Jil Tracy's question to Burris during the January 8 impeachment hearing, but also called on him to "do the right thing" and resign.  Watch it (video of the entire 16-minute segment can be found here):

Mendoza is not only one calling for Burris to step down.  From a Tribune editorial that in today's paper:

Enough. Roland Burris must resign.

His protests that he had nothing to hide just don’t square with his obvious attempts to hide something, as evidenced by the evolving truths in three sworn statements to the House impeachment panel.

The Washington Post editorial board echoes that sentiment:

Mr. Burris's story has more twists than the Chicago El, and none of them good. Caught in a swirl of accusations of perjury and calls for his resignation from state Democrats and Republicans alike, Mr. Burris said yesterday, "I welcome the opportunity to go before any and all investigative bodies, including those referred by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the Senate ethics committee to answer any questions they have." When that opportunity arises, why should anyone believe him? [...]

[T]his latest revelation makes a mockery of his professions of no quid pro quo. It is a violation of the public trust. The people of Illinois have suffered enough. Mr. Burris should resign. 

Cook County Comm.  Mike Quigley -- who was just endorsed by the Tribune in the 5th District race -- has followed suit by also calling for Burris to exit the Senate:

Roland Burris’ failure to be honest and upfront with the people of Illinois should disqualify him from service in the United States Senate. 

He should resign, immediately.

The Illinois legislature should work with Governor Quinn to pass legislation immediately setting up a special election empowering the people of Illinois to have a voice in this matter and allowing us all to finally turn the page on this sad chapter in Illinois’ politics.

Both Tom Geoghegan and John Fritchey put out statements today called for special elections to fill vacant U.S. Senate seats.

Meanwhile, Cook County Clerk David Orr also joined the chorus:

It doesn't matter if there's some obscure explanations here and there. The credibility is shot. And we don't need this gamesmanship being played in our U.S senator. We need someone who has the reasonable credibility - Democrat or Republican - in this state who can go to work.

In the meantime, Burris is scheduled to appear at the Chicago City Club around noon today.  That should be an interesting Q&A.

UPDATE (2/18, 8:50 am): In response to a question from blogger Carl Nyberg, Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood) confirmed that she thinks Burris should resign.

UPDATE II (2/18, 11:37 am): Sara Feigenholtz joins her 5th District rival Quigley in calling for Burris' resignation:

Three months ago I called for a special election to fill President Obama’s seat because I believed voters should have had the right to choose their Senator, not politicians in Springfield.  This appointment has been under a dark cloud since the day this seat became vacant. And look where it got us. These disappointing disclosures on the part of Senator Burris mean only one thing: he must resign. It’s time that we hand this decision over to the voters and have a clean break.  Let them decide.

UPDATE (2/18, 2:12 pm): In a statement just sent out by his campaign, Geoghegan calls for Burris' resignation and even demands he return the money he has earned in his time in office:

Regardless of whether Burris committed perjury, he appears to have made false or misleading statements to the General Assembly and others to facilitate his appointment to the U.S. Senate. Under one fair reading of the law, that could make him liable to taxpayers for three times the amount of the salary he now receives in the Senate.

I call on U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald to investigate this matter. [...]

“Roland Burris should resign immediately and return every cent he has earned as a senator. The seat should then be filled by special election, not by appointment.