Can Senator Roland Burris be effective?

Imagine the person who hired you was fired for allegedly trying to sell the spot to the highest bidder regardless of qualifications.

Then seemingly every day the office newsletter reports on how you keep changing your story about getting the job.

And your top colleagues are plotting to get you kicked out and are asking you to just leave to your face.

Would you be able to get much work done?

That is exactly the situation Sen. Roland Burris is now in. Burris contends he can still do the job as Illinois junior senator, but many question whether he can be effective at that post - the same seat Barack Obama was in when he was elected president

Burris has begged the public and the state's political establishment to "stop the rush to judgment."

But the Chicago Democrat is nonetheless left with little clout and even less credibility - two qualities essential for an effective lawmaker, experts say.

"In terms of passing legislation and having an impact on policy, he is clearly limited in what he can get done," said John Jackson, a visiting professor with the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. "And I just don't see him being able to bring home any bacon to Illinois."

Jackson points out few senators may be willing to work closely with Burris on passing policy changes, partially because his credibility is damaged but also because of uncertainty over whether he will still be in office the next day.

That kind of cooperative effort with other lawmakers is one of the top jobs for senators. Another one is to help residents navigate the vast bureaucracy of the federal government: help with government records, landing that long-lost military medal, applying for citizenship, negotiating with Medicaid, etc...

Several suburban lawmakers contacted by the Daily Herald say they won't be going to Burris for such help and will instead direct all their problems to Illinois' senior Sen. Dick Durbin, a Springfield Democrat.

"I just think that right now, at this time and place, Illinois has one U.S. Senator," said Aurora Democratic state Rep. Linda Chapa-Lavia. "He is ineffective, right now. If you were a U.S. senator, would you trust Roland Burris on his word?"

State Rep. Franco Coladipietro, a Bloomingdale Republican, said, "I think again, just like former Governor Blagojevich, I think the distraction of what's going on with him right now makes it very difficult to lead and govern at that level."

In all, 13 suburban lawmakers contacted by the Daily Herald said they wouldn't trust Burris to handle constituent problems effectively.

Jackson, however, believes that if the public feels comfortable having Burris handle their problems, his staff should be able to get things done. Jackson worked in the Senate as a staffer out of college.

"If you are bureaucrat in some mid-level agency and you get a call from Sen. Burris' office, you are going to try and get something done for him," Jackson says.

Burris' spokesman Jim O'Connor says the office is taking requests and acting on them.

O'Connor also argues Burris is doing all he can to be an effective lawmaker. Last week he hired a chief of staff and is looking to make more hires. Burris has signed on to legislation he supports and voted along Democratic Party lines.

"At the end of the day there are 100 senators," O'Connor said, "And Senator Burris' vote is every bit as powerful as everyone else's."