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Sen. Tombstone fights to keep tainted seat
Weighing in for the first time on Madigans mid-week opinion, Burris lawyer Timothy W. Wright III said her opinion is incorrect and federal election laws trump the attorney generals argument. Sen. Burris position is clear: The General Assembly will violate clearly established federal law if it creates a special election, Wright wrote Madigan in a letter released by Burris office Friday. Asking Madigan to reconsider her opinion, Wright went on to note the potential cost of a special election, estimated at as much as $50 million. I encourage you to take a second look at your analysis before the General Assembly wastes millions of dollars on an unlawful election, Wright wrote. The move marks the clearest sign yet that Burris is poised to wage a legal battle against any legislative efforts to wrest away his position amid growing calls for his resignation. Gov. Quinn has been pushing for a special election, but Democrats at the Statehouse have been reticent to take up a cause that could well trigger a racially-tinged backlash against the party for helping unseat the U.S. Senates only African-American member. Senate Democrats placed two bills that would provide for special elections in a subcommittee Thursday, which is the legislative equivalent of putting the idea on ice. In the House, Democrats are split on the question and House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) has ignored repeated Republican attempts to push special-election legislation. The attorney general's office said Burris' lawyers' argument is flawed. "The legal analysis in his letter does not apply to the current circumstances," Madigan spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said of Wright's letter. "Because President Barack Obama vacated the U.S. Senate seat, the 17th Amendment controls and allows the vacancy to be filled by an election as the Legislature may direct." Posted by: Steve White 2009-02-28 |
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