Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) admitted Tuesday that he sought to raise money for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) at the behest of the scandal-plagued governor’s brother while seeking an appointment to the Senate.
Burris told reporters after the Peoria Democratic Dinner that Robert Blagojevich, the brother and chief fundraiser of the governor, sought to enlist Burris to raise money for the governor before and after the November election.
Burris said that he tried to organize a fundraiser before realizing he could not manage to scrounge up enough donors to meet the $10 to $15 thousand bundle sought by Robert Blagojevich. He later told Blagojevich, after realizing the fundraiser’s lack of feasibility, that it would be inappropriate to raise money while seeking to replace President Obama in the Senate.
Burris has come under fire from state officials after seemingly contradicting testimony before the Illinois state legislature that he did not “pay to play” while seeking his eventually successful nomination to the Senate.