Bill Text: IL HR0093 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the Ethics Committee of the Unites States Senate to investigate allegations concerning Senator Roland Burris and take appropriate action; and if Senator Burris is expelled, for Illinois to conduct a statewide election to fill the vacancy.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 48-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-02-23 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Susana A. Mendoza [HR0093 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2009-HR0093-Introduced.html
|
|
|||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, On January 8, 2009, the current junior United | ||||||
| 3 | States Senator from Illinois, Roland Wallace Burris, testified | ||||||
| 4 | under oath to the House Special Investigative Committee on the | ||||||
| 5 | circumstances connected to his appointment to the Senate by | ||||||
| 6 | former Governor Rod Blagojevich; and
| ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, While under oath, Burris responded to questioning | ||||||
| 8 | from Representative Jim Durkin; and
| ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Representative Durkin asked Burris whether he had | ||||||
| 10 | spoken about the Senate appointment with anyone "closely | ||||||
| 11 | related to the governor, including family members or lobbyists | ||||||
| 12 | connected with him"; and
| ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, In asking Burris this question, Representative | ||||||
| 14 | Durkin listed six enumerated individuals connected with | ||||||
| 15 | Governor Blagojevich; and
| ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Speaking under oath, Burris answered this | ||||||
| 17 | question in the negative; and
| ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, In an affidavit dated February 4, 2009, and | ||||||
| 19 | submitted to the chairperson of the House Special Investigative | ||||||
| 20 | Committee, Burris sought to revise and extend his January 8 | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | testimony to the Committee; and
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, In this February 4th affidavit, Burris for the | ||||||
| 3 | first time revealed conversations with five enumerated close | ||||||
| 4 | advisors to Blagojevich, all of whom had been named in Durkin's | ||||||
| 5 | question to him, and with whom Burris had previously denied, | ||||||
| 6 | under oath, that he had spoken; and
| ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, At the January 8, 2009 hearing of the House | ||||||
| 8 | Special Investigative Committee, several representatives asked | ||||||
| 9 | Burris whether there had been any "quid pro quo" involved in | ||||||
| 10 | Blagojevich's decision to appoint Burris to the United States | ||||||
| 11 | Senate; and
| ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Speaking under oath, Burris on January 8th | ||||||
| 13 | answered these questions in the negative; and
| ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, On February 16 and 17, 2009, Burris made public | ||||||
| 15 | statements admitting to having discussed taking on a | ||||||
| 16 | fundraising role for the former Governor; and
| ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, On February 17, 2009, Burris, speaking in Peoria, | ||||||
| 18 | Illinois, admitted to reporters that he had "called some people | ||||||
| 19 | about trying to see if we could put a fundraiser together" for | ||||||
| 20 | the former Governor; and
| ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | WHEREAS, The contradictions between these statements made | ||||||
| 2 | by Burris under oath on January 8, 2009, and affidavits and | ||||||
| 3 | statements made by Burris since that time, raise questions | ||||||
| 4 | about Burris's veracity that have been referred to Sangamon | ||||||
| 5 | County State's Attorney John Schmidt for possible prosecution | ||||||
| 6 | for perjury; therefore, be it
| ||||||
| 7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 8 | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 9 | the Ethics Committee of the United States Senate should conduct | ||||||
| 10 | a thorough inquiry into the ethical questions raised by the | ||||||
| 11 | process through which Senator Roland Wallace Burris was | ||||||
| 12 | appointed by former Governor Rod Blagojevich to the United | ||||||
| 13 | States Senate; and be it further
| ||||||
| 14 | RESOLVED, That this inquiry should include, but not be | ||||||
| 15 | limited to, the fact pattern briefly described in this preamble | ||||||
| 16 | and resolution; and be it further
| ||||||
| 17 | RESOLVED, That if the members of the Senate Ethics | ||||||
| 18 | Committee believe, after an inquiry into the facts of this | ||||||
| 19 | case, that their duty requires them to recommend that the | ||||||
| 20 | Senate use the power granted by Section 5 of Article I of the | ||||||
| 21 | Constitution of the United States of America to expel a member | ||||||
| 22 | from their ranks by two-thirds vote, that the Senate, sitting | ||||||
| 23 | as a whole, adopt this recommendation and take action to expel | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | Senator Roland Wallace Burris; and be it further
| ||||||
| 2 | RESOLVED, That, if this event takes place, that the State | ||||||
| 3 | of Illinois enact suitable legislation to enable the people of | ||||||
| 4 | the State to select a new senator by special Statewide election | ||||||
| 5 | of the people; and be it further
| ||||||
| 6 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this preamble and | ||||||
| 7 | resolution be presented to the Illinois delegation to the | ||||||
| 8 | federal House of Representatives and to the senior and junior | ||||||
| 9 | federal Senators from the State of Illinois.
| ||||||
