Burris reportedly will not seek Senate seat in 2010

By Mark Preston and Ted Barrett

CNN

(CNN) -- Sen. Roland Burris, D-Illinois, is expected to announce Friday that he will not run for a full six-year term next year, a well-placed Democratic source told CNN.

Sen. Roland Burris has been under fire since being appointed to fill President Obama's Senate seat.

Burris is serving the remaining two years of President Obama's Senate term, but he has never been embraced by his party's leaders in Illinois or Capitol Hill.

Burris' spokeswoman would not comment on the senator's political plans, but his office released an advisory Thursday stating that he would make a "major announcement" during a speech Friday afternoon in Chicago.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, said Durbin had spoken to Burris. The spokesman declined to comment, saying "we will let him speak for himself" Friday.

Burris was appointed to the seat in late December by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who had been arrested on federal corruption charges for allegedly trying to sell Obama's seat to the highest bidder.

Democratic leaders urged Blagojevich not to make an appointment. He disregarded those wishes by naming Burris, a former state attorney general and state comptroller, to the seat.

Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office in January and Democrats grudgingly recognized Burris as the junior senator from Illinois. However, Burris still faced an investigation and scrutiny at the same time he was trying to learn the ropes on Capitol Hill.

In June, Sangamon County State's Attorney John Schmidt ruled that it would not charge Burris with perjury in connection with his testimony for the alleged "pay for play" scheme with Blagojevich to fill the Senate seat. Schmidt said Burris gave incomplete but truthful answers to questions about his conversations with Blagojevich's representatives.

Without the backing of national and state Democrats, it would be a difficult, if not impossible, campaign for Burris to run for a six-year term.

Questions remain on who will run for Burris' seat. A top candidate for the nomination, state Attorney Gen. Lisa Madigan, announced earlier this week that she would run for re-election of her current office. Other Democrats reportedly eyeing the seat include Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Chicago Urban League President Cheryle Jackson and Chicago businessman Christopher Kennedy. Kennedy is the son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-New York.

A senior Senate Republican source told CNN that Rep. Mark Kirk has told GOP leaders that he plans to run for the seat. Kirk's spokesman could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.