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Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Africa Europe Latin America Middle East North America Search Search: Defiant governor fills Obama's senate seat despite graft scandal AFP - 2 hours 20 minutes ago CHICAGO (AFP) - - The corruption-tainted governor of Illinois defied Democratic party leaders Tuesday by appointing a prominent African-American statesman to the senate seat of president-elect Barack Obama. Senate Democrats vowed not to seat former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris, saying he would "serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety" in the wake of allegations that Governor Rod Blagojevich tried to sell the seat to the highest bidder. But Illinois congressman and civil rights leader Bobby Rush used racially tinged language and urged them "to not hang and lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer." Rush said Burris is a "worthy" candidate and noted that with Obama's departure, there will be no African-Americans in the Senate. "I don't think that anyone -- any US senator, who's sitting in the Senate, right now, wants to go on record to deny one African-American for being seated in the US Senate," Rush said as he joined Burris and Blagojevich at a press conference. Blagojevich, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, said he was merely fulfilling his duty to the citizens of Illinois after state lawmakers failed to call a special election. Obama, who is on holiday in Hawaii before he takes office on January 20, has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the scandal. "I am here to announce my intention to appoint an individual who has unquestioned integrity, extensive experience and is a wise and distinguished senior statesman of Illinois," Blagojevich told reporters. "Please don't allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man." Burris, 71, was the first African-American elected to statewide office in Illinois in 1982 when he won the office of state comptroller. Burris "has had a long and distinguished career serving the people of Illinois. He will be a great United States senator," Blagojevich said. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin said Burris's record and ability are irrelevant in the face of Blagojevich's December 9 arrest on fraud and bribery charges after FBI wiretaps allegedly revealed he had discussed ways to profit from the appointment. "It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Governor Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety," Durbin said in a statement where he again urged Blagojevich to resign. "Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Governor Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus." Blagojevich has refused to resign in the wake of the "seat-for-sale" scandal, but state lawmakers are currently leading an inquiry into whether there are grounds to impeach him and remove him from office. Burris is not thought to be among the six candidates discussed by Blagojevich in the FBI wiretaps. Burris declined to comment on "the governor's circumstance" saying only that "in this legal process, you're innocent until you're proven guilty." He also declined to say whether he would fight attempts to block his appointment, saying "we will deal with the next step in the process." "I am proud of my accomplishments as a public servant," Burris said as he accepted the appointment. "I ask the people of Illinois to place the same faith and trust in me that they have in the past when they elected me" for earlier statewide positions. Burris was the Illinois state comptroller until 1991, when he became the second African-American in the United States elected as attorney general. Burris ran unsuccessfully in 1984 for the Democratic nomination for the same senate seat to which he was appointed. Burris also failed to win his party's nomination for mayor of Chicago in 1995 and for Illinois governor in 1998, 1998 and 2002. Burris, who served as vice chair of Blagojevich's transition team in 2002, currently runs a political consulting firm in Chicago and serves as a counsel to his son's Wisconsin law firm. Burris has also made Ebony magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential African-Americans 16 times. Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Recommend this article Average (0 votes) Sign in to recommend this article » Most Recommended Stories » Related Articles: World Hundreds in Mich., NYC protest strikes on GazaAP - 23 minutes ago December consumer confidence drops to all-time lowAP - 35 minutes ago Lawyer in Alamo case: Bible no defense for abuseAP - 44 minutes ago Not so fast: Senate has a say on Obama's successorAP - 44 minutes ago Mexico, US set extradition records in 2008AP - 47 minutes ago Enlarge Photo Former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris fields questions after Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich introduced him as his choice to fill the US Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama during a press conference at the Thompson Center in Chicago, Illinois. 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