ii mil mniut www.nwi.com THE TIMES IL WEDNESDAY JANUARY 7 2009 PAGE All Blagojevich Burns' bid wins crucial Senator's support 1 i anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Seating Burris seemed more likely late Tuesday, when Sen. Dianne Feinstein rejected the reasoning that all of the cham SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, D-CALIF. BY LAURIE KELLMAN AND ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writers WASHINGTON Roland Burris failed to capture President-elect Barack Obama's old Senate seat Tuesday in a wild piece of political theater, but the Democrats' opposition cracked when a key chairwoman said seating him was simply the legal thing to.do.
Democratic leaders, set to meet with Burris on Wednesday, were searching for a way to defuse the dispute before it further overshadows the 111th Congress. Knowledgeable Senate officials of both parties widely predicted that the saga would end with Burris being seated. They spoke on condition of of the Senate Rules Committee, which judges the credentials of senators. Burris marched into the Capitol earlier Tuesday, declaring himself "the junior senator from the state of Illinois." But Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson rejected his certification, as he knew she would, saying it lacked Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's signature and the state seal. Late Tuesday, Feinstein urged the Senate to settle the matter.
"If you don't seat Mr. Burris, it has ramifications for gubernatorial appointments all over America," the California senator said. "Mr. Burris is a senior, experienced politician. He has been attorney general, he has been controller, and he is very well-respected.
I am hopeful that this will be settled." A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier, Reid had said, "Mr. Burris is not in possession of the necessary credentials from the state of Illinois." Burris, meanwhile, pivoted from his rejection at the Capitol to the Illinois Supreme Court, asking it to order White to certify his appointment. Burris was expected to meet with Reid on Wednesday. It would be his second appearance at the Capitol in as many days.
ber's Democrats, herself included, had cited in a letter last week that corruption charges against Burris' patron, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, tainted his appointment. "Does the governor have the power, under law, to make the appointment? And the answer is yes," said Feinstein, chairwoman Burris Continued from Al calendars for September, October, November and December include the governor attending a party for Tribune Co. owner Sam Zell, who is trying to sell the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, lunch with the Cubs' general manager and a meeting with a wealthy former Senate candidate. Some of the people who appear on the schedules also are referenced by pseudonyms in the complaint, which details conversations Blagojevich had on secretly recorded phone calls and meetings with top aides, lobbyists and contributors in the months leading up to his Dec.
9 arrest. Blagojevich has denied wrongdoing. The documents raise questions about the involvement of top officials at SEIU, which has given Blagojevich $1.8 million for his two gubernatorial campaigns. Prosecutors allege one of Blagojevich's plans was to use his power to appoint a Senate replacement for Obama to get a six-figure job with "Change to Win," an SEIU-affiliat-ed political action group. Aside from the Nov.
3 meeting with Stern and Balanoff, the calendar shows Blagojevich was scheduled to sit down with Balanoff on Nov. 6 and Nov. 24. Stern has said he was unaware of any scheme and has declined to discuss meetings with Blagojevich. Balanoff is mentioned in Obama's report on his transition team's contacts with the Illinois governor.
The report says Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Balanoff discussed the notion that Blagojevich could be appointed Health and Human Services secretary, which Jarrett dismissed as "ridiculous." However, there never was any suggestion in the conversation that Blagojevich was linking the Senate appointment to the possible Cabinet posting, the report states. Blagojevich also had scheduled September meetings with former Senate candidate Blair Hull and J.B. Pritzker, the brother of a close adviser to Obama. He attended a party Sept. 27 for Tribune Co.
owner Sam Zell and had lunch Nov. 21 with Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. Continued from A1 behind Burris, who is scheduled to testify Thursday before an Illinois House committee considering Blagojevich's impeachment. The fact that America's first black president has come out against seating Burris may be preventing the dispute from turning into a major racial flare-up. i Still, the drama has forced racial politics, once again, to center stage.
And how it ultimately plays out could affect hopes for the "post-racial" society supposedly heralded by Barack Obama's election. "If there ever was a playing of the race card, this was it," said Chris Rabb, an activist with and former legislative assistant for Carol Moseley Braun, a black woman who preceded Obama in the U.S. Senate seat. "Blagojevich may be crazy, but he's not stupid." Obama himself has said Burris should not be seated because of the taint of corruption surrounding Blagojevich, who is charged with trying to sell the Senate seat. And Obama's opposition to seating Burris could sorely undermine any attempt to make a racial issue out of the matter.
Moreover, Burris officially was denied entry to the Senate because his credentials were not signed by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White who is black. Some political observers have speculated that Blagojevich appointed Burris, the 71-year-old former Illinois attorney general, to win over black support in his bid to stave off impeachment, or to influence the jury pool if he stands trial on the, corruption charges. Groups like the NAACP and Congressional Black Caucus have not publicly supported Burris, though they may be working behind the scenes to get him seated. The Rev. Al Sharpton, whom some might have expected to be leading a march or three, has been muted in his support.
Sharpton acknowledged that the Senate would have objected to anyone Blagojevich appointed. But "Blagojevich has really checkmated everyone and used race as a cover. I think it's interesting that Roland was never on his list before," Sharpton said. "So when did he get this conversion to Roland and why, no one knows. But at the end of the day it doesn't matter to many in the African-American community he's put us in the position to get an African-American senator." Associated Press writers Mike Blood in Los Angeles and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.
Body Continued from Al needed, Georgeff said. An autopsy is scheduled for today, Schererville Detective Cmdr. Peggi Calderaro said. Highland detectives joined Schererville and Lake County officials on Winston Court, near Kennedy Avenue on Tuesday. The body was found there in the Central Avenue Ditch, which runs between several businesses in an his pickup truck about lunch time Tuesday and saw what he thought was a body, face down, in the ditch.
He called over two coworkers to get their opinion, and after they determined it could be a body, they called police, Norwine said. The water level in the ditch was higher in recent days. Norwine had noticed some sort of obstruction in the water flow but could not tell what it was. When industrial park. Schererville firefighters removed the body from the water.
Schererville police, the Lake County coroner's office and Lake County's crime lab also were on the scene. Police were called to the area at 12:24 p.m., said Dan Smith, acting Schererville police chief. Scott Norwine, who works at a nearby business, said he was walking to get something out of the water level dropped Tuesday, that is when he determined it could be a body. Smith said police did not know, how long the body had been there. Several businesses near the ditch have surveillance cameras.
Police plan to secure the footage today and determine whether it contains anything to help their investigation, Schererville Detective Randy Reno said. SUV Legcramps' Col STOP LEG CRAMPS BEFORE THEY STOP YOU. Calcet's triple calcium formula is designed to help stop low calcium leg cramps. Just ask your pharmacist. QeBySntHiBt Not only is his vehicle fuel efficient and requires little upkeep, Clay said, but it also saves Gary residents cash.
"We're saving taxpayers money by riding in a Hummer," he said. "I could've bought a $50,000 Triple Calcium pusifatmD bailout, some of which lambasted the city for funding the boxy vehicle. On Monday, panel member Mark GiaQuinta, of Fort Wayne, said the letters he has seen tell him that Gary residents want to see "profound change" before the city is granted any relief from the tax caps. Clay said Tuesday he felt the board was dismissing1 the Hummer as "a petty issue. They don't want to hear about it, and I don't blame them." Though he expressed frustration in doing so, Clay defended his vehicle choice Tuesday, saying, "I put my own gas in this Hummer.
It's one of the cheapest SUVs. So what's the problem? "There's a bigger issue than the Hummer I'm driving," he said. "We've got major, major financial issues over here in Gary." In their plea to the appeals board, Gary officials have asked for four years to cope with new tax caps, which are projected to siphon $30.3 million from the city's 2009 budget. "I don't want to continue to make a mountain out of a molehill," Clay said, noting that he voluntarily took a 20 percent pay cut in the midst of the city's fiscal meltdown. Continued from Al has proven its need for state help if it still is buying automobiles.
"It's disappointing to learn this the day after Mayor Clay asked the Distressed Unit board to raise the property tax caps," said Ryan Kitchell, chairman of the appeals board and director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget. "We will only consider doing so after the city has cut all that it can. The new Hummer and testimony presented yesterday clearly show that much more spending can be cut." More than 30 Gary residents submitted comments to the board opposing the I felt like I had wingS. "I felt lighter. I could walk faster.
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"It was nothing life threatening," he said. "She was released from the hospital that day." Martin and the victim have been involved in an ongoing dispute, Hoving said. "Basically both sides have been going at it," he said. "A feud has been going on since August." Martin is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 26, Hoving said.
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