President Elect Barack Obama's senate seat was filled by former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris on January 15, 2009.Fox News: Standoff Over, Senate Welcomes Burris (January 15, 2009) Obama announced that he was resigning his Senate seat effective November 16, 2008, leaving open the possibility that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich would imminently choose a successor.FOX News: President-Elect Obama Resigns From Senate (November 13, 2008)

Blagojevich named 71-year-old Burris to the seat on December 30, 2008. Because Blagojevich was embroiled in an ongoing corruption scandal, U.S. Senate Democrats stated their intent not to seat Burris or anyone named to the post by Blagojevich. When the Congress convened on January 6, 2009, Burris was turned away because he did not have the signature of the Illinois Secretary of State. The Illinois Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the signature was not necessary for a valid appointment to senate.Politico: Burris Gets OK...

Although he maintained that he would not certify any appointment made by Governor Rod Blagojevich, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White did endorse a document that stated that Roland Burris' appointment document itself was "true and accurate" on January 9, 2009. Shortly before he did so, the Illinois Supreme Court Ruled that White's signature was not required to certify the appointment, although the Senate does require that appointees obtain the Secretary of State's approval before a new Senator is seated.Politico: Burris gets OK from Illinois sec. of state (January 10, 2008) A Burris adviser reported that Burris would likely return to the Senate as early as January 12 and demand to be seated. If Senators continue their refusal to swear Burris in as a Senator, his adviser said, Burris plans to file a lawsuit.Reuters: Burris may return to the Senate next week (January 10, 2008)

Illinois Governor Blagojevich was taken into federal custody on the morning of December 9, 2008, on federal corruption charges.Chicago Breaking News: Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody (December 9, 2008) Among other accusations, Blagojevich was allegedly involved in a scheme to sell the Illinois senate seat appointment.ChicagoTribune.com: Blagojevich's Senate selection process investigated (December 9, 2008)

On December 10, 2008, the day after Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested, it was reported that Jesse Jackson Jr. was the "Senate Candidate 5" mentioned in the criminal complaint against the governor. However, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald confirmed that neither Jackson nor any of the other potential senate candidates that Blagojevich discussed extorting during recorded conversations were under investigation.CNN: Jackson says he didn't 'pay to play' Illinois politics (December 10, 2008)

On January 2, 2009, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Democratic Majority leader Harry Reid had made a phone call to Blagojevich to discuss the appointment six days before the governor was arrested. According to reports, Reid argued against the appointment of Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones, and argued for the appointment of Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. No accusations of wrongdoing were leveled against Senator Reid. Reid made a statement regarding the news but did not clarify details regarding the phone call.Sun Timss: Reid pressured Blagojevich not to appoint Jackson Jr. to Obama's U.S. Senate seat (January 2, 2009)