Roland Burris To Face Blagojevich Impeachment Panel; IL Lawmakers May Vote Friday On Ousting Gov.

Chicago, IL (AHN) - Former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris is set to testify before the special state House committee investigating whether Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat, should be impeached.

Burris (D-IL), who was turned away on Tuesday by the Senate from joining the swearing-in ceremonies for the new 111th Congress, is expected to face questions from both Republican and Democratic state representatives about how he came to be chosen by Blagojevich.

The 71-year-old Burris was appointed last week by the embattled governor. He filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court the next day asking that Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White be forced to certify his appointment.

He walked into the Capitol on Tuesday despite statements from Democrats that he would be rejected, and submitted a certification of his appointment even without the signature of White.

Blagojevich was arrested on Dec. 9 at his North Side home after years of being investigated on allegations of corruption. He has yet to be indicted, but the criminal complaint against him says he attempted to raise $100,000 in campaign contributions in return for his signing into law of a bill directing a portion of casino revenues the horse racing industry. He had also allegedly been offered $1.5 million in campaign money by associates of an individual identified in the federal complaint as "Senate Candidate 5."

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL), who previously expressed desire for Obama's Senate seat, has confirmed that he is "Senate Candidate 5."

The Illinois House of Representatives set up a special panel in December to determine if the 52-year-old governor should be ousted from office. The 21-member committee, chaired by state House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a Democrat, may make a recommendation as soon as Thursday, according to USA Today.

State lawmakers also told the New York Times that the they may vote on Friday whether to recommend impeachment, but that it would likely wait if secretly recorded telephone conversations of Blagojevich will be turned over to them.

Federal prosecutors had asked a judge to allow redacted versions of the wiretaps to be released to the panel, in response to a request from the committee. The judge had scheduled a Thursday hearing to rule on the matter.