Pat Quinn: Roland Burris Should Follow His Conscience

Gov. Pat Quinn today urged Sen. Roland Burris to "follow his conscience" in deciding whether to fight the Senate special election ruling handed down yesterday.

"Roland Burris has been a good friend of mine since 1972," Quinn said. "I advise him to follow his conscience, whatever he thinks is appropriate."

Lauding Burris' civil rights bona fides, Quinn said Burris has "a lot to be proud of," and demurred when asked why he doesn't ask Burris outright not to challenge the court's decision.

"I think it's better to let the decision to be made by those who interpret our constitution so that we can have the election on Nov. 2nd with as little disruption as possible," Quinn said.

At this point, Congressman Danny K. Davis chimed in and echoed Quinn's position on the issue.

"I remember my father when I was these young kids' age," Davis said, gesturing at the reporters at the press event. "And he used to always tell us to be careful about giving advice. And we used to ask him why.

"And he would say 'Well, a wise man don't need it, and a fool won't heed it.' I think Sen. Burris is very capable of making this decision, and he will make it in the best interests of the people of Illinois."

Contact Us