Marathon Pundit links to a list of controversies that presumed Illinois Senate designate Roland Burris has been the center of over the course of his public career. Two jump off the page:
Racial comment: In his 1998 primary bid for governor, Burris was caught on videotape telling black supporters his opponents were “non-qualified white boys.” Burris apologized for the statement. Burris has recently insisted he never played the race card in his public career.
Pension bump: In 1993, Burris used $28,200 in campaign donations to pay the state to boost his own pension so he could receive the maximum payments when he retired. Such personal use of campaign funds was not illegal at that time.
Classy.
