Let Burris serve and move forward

By obstructing the appointment of Roland Burris to the Senate, Secretary of State Jesse White is making a bad situation worse by depriving citizens of Illinois of representation in the United States Senate.

It also seems that Senator Dick Durbin is putting the interests of party leadership ahead of the best interests of Illinois residents by trying to prevent Burris from being seated in the Senate.

Instead, it seems that White and Durbin have settled on a strategy that will cause the Senate seat to be mired in lengthy litigation that seems likely leave Illinois without a second Senator for an extended period of time.

It is disheartening that our elected officials are not acting as advocates to insure us the full representation that we are entitled to at a critical juncture in our history.

The best resolution of this unfortunate mess is a solution that puts the controversy behind us and allows us to move forward, instead of an ugly fight for the power to select a Senator.

Let Burris serve his two years and then let the voters elect the next Senator in 2010.

Andrew Turner

Libertyville