Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic leaders agreed to let Roland Burris of Illinois be seated in the U.S. Senate, resolving a dispute over his appointment by impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich.

“Everything is now in order,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and second-ranking Democrat Richard Durbin of Illinois said in a statement after an attorney for Burris met with Senate officials today at the Capitol. Barring objections by Republicans, Burris will be sworn in later this week, the leaders said.

The decision is a turnaround for Reid and Durbin, who said last week that Burris, a 71-year-old Democrat, couldn’t be seated because his appointment lacked the signature of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. White refused to sign the appointment to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat because Blagojevich was accused of trying to sell the seat for cash or other favors.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Jan. 9 that Burris’s appointment is valid without White’s signature. The Illinois House of Representatives impeached Blagojevich on the same day.

Burris, at a news conference in Chicago, said the dispute was resolved because “people recognized that we should move forward and get this action behind us.” He thanked Reid and Durbin, who he said were trying to do their best for Illinois, and called White “an honorable man.”

No ‘Taint’

“There is no such thing as taint,” Burris said when asked about people who may view his appointment as tainted because of the charges against Blagojevich. He said the governor had “no choice” but to make an appointment because it was his duty to fill the seat.

“Our state finds itself in the midst of an unfortunate time,” Burris said, when “we should be rejoicing in the presidential inauguration of our own Barack Obama.”

Burris said he was “trying to get my family together” so he can be sworn in this week. He declined to say whether he will run for the Senate seat in 2010.

Obama transition spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said tonight the president-elect “knows Roland Burris and has high regard for him.”

Obama “looks forward to working with Senator Burris and the rest of the United States Senate to rebuild our economy and meet the great challenges of our time,” Pfeiffer said in an e- mailed statement.

Regrettable Decision

Republican National Committee Chairman Robert Duncan, in a statement, called the Democratic leaders’ decision “regrettable.”

“Democrats had every opportunity to strip Governor Blagojevich of his power to appoint a U.S. senator, but ultimately they accepted a Blagojevich appointee rather than risk losing a Senate seat in a special election,” Duncan said.

Today, Burris’s attorney Timothy Wright presented Senate officials with White’s signature on a separate letter certifying the governor’s appointment document was genuine. Wright declined to comment as he left the Capitol.

“The secretary of the Senate has determined that the new credentials presented today on behalf of Mr. Burris now satisfy Senate rules and validate his appointment to the vacant Illinois Senate seat,” Reid and Durbin said in a statement.

Senate Democrats mapped out a path for Burris to be seated in the Senate last week when they called for the completion of his paperwork and for him to testify before a House panel that was considering Blagojevich’s impeachment.

Burris on Jan. 8 told the panel the governor never asked him for money or favors in exchange for the appointment. The court ruling the next day on the validity of his documents cleared the way for him to be seated in the Senate.

Franken Race

The seating of Burris leaves one contested Senate seat in the chamber now controlled by Democrats 58-41. Minnesota officials today rejected Democrat Al Franken’s request to be certified the winner of that state’s Senate race while Republican Norm Coleman challenges the result in court.

A state canvassing board declared Franken the winner by 225 votes out of about 2.4 million cast.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net; Andrew Harris in Chicago at aharris16@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 12, 2009 21:50 EST