Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Congressional leaders and Illinois officials maneuvered to block embattled Governor Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of a veteran state politician to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Blagojevich, facing possible impeachment by the Illinois legislature for allegedly trying to sell the seat, yesterday announced his selection of former state Attorney General Roland Burris for the post.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, a Democrat like Burris and Blagojevich, refused today to certify Burris’s appointment when it was delivered to White’s Chicago office. Meanwhile, Senate Democratic leaders, with Obama’s support, said they wouldn’t seat him.

The process marks the latest twist in a saga that has distracted Democrats just three weeks before the presidential inauguration. Obama finds himself responding to Blagojevich as he crafts strategies to deal with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression.

The appointment “is going to make it difficult for the Democrats,” said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor. Separating themselves from Blagojevich “is foremost in their minds,” he said.

More Time Sought

As the political maneuvering unfolded, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald asked a federal judge today for more time to bring an indictment against the Illinois governor, citing the complexity of the case and the interruption of the holiday season.

Senate Democratic leaders drew the support of Obama in saying they won’t seat Burris, citing a Dec. 10 letter by 50 Democrats in the chamber demanding the governor’s resignation following Blagojevich’s arrest on political corruption charges.

“This is not about Mr. Burris; it is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat,” the group said in a statement issued by the office of Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. “Anyone appointed by Governor Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus.”

Blagojevich, 52, said at the conference the charges against him should not taint Burris.

“He has a long and distinguished career serving the people of Illinois,” the governor said. “Don’t allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man.”

Political History

Burris, 71, who is black, has lost bids in a series of Democratic primaries ranging from Chicago mayor to governor and U.S. senator. His most recent campaign was an unsuccessful race for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2002, which he lost to Blagojevich. Burris then served as vice chairman of the governor’s transition team.

White today refused to “accept, countersign or affix the seal of the state of Illinois” to the appointment documents, said Henry Haupt, an aide to the secretary of state. White had said yesterday he wouldn’t countersign.

“It’s a reflection of what the secretary has said he would do due to the controversy that has swirled around this appointment,” Haupt said in a telephone interview from the state capital of Springfield.

As a result of White’s refusal, the governor’s office may attempt to file the appointment papers directly with Congress, said David Drucker, a spokesman for the Illinois secretary of state.

Former Illinois Governor Jim Thompson, a Republican, said in an interview with National Public Radio that the secretary of state’s certification is a “ministerial duty” and White has no discretionary authority to withhold his signature.

Obama’s Opposition

Obama also opposed the appointment, saying in a statement that “the best resolution would be for the governor to resign his office and allow a lawful and appropriate process of succession to take place.”

Burris and U.S. Representative Bobby Rush, a black Democrat representing Chicago’s South Side, both suggested today it would be racist not to seat the Blagojevich pick. Rush, in an interview with CBS’s “Early Show,” compared critics to segregation icon George Wallace, the former Alabama Governor who fought to prevent schools there from being integrated.

“The recent history of our nation has shown us that, sometimes, there can be individuals and there can be situations where school -- where you have officials standing in the doorway of schoolchildren,” Rush said. “I’m talking about George Wallace” and “I’m sure that the U.S. Senate don’t want to see themselves placed in the same situation.”

Questioning Motives

Burris, in an interview with NBC’s “Today Show,’ said, “Is it racism that’s taking place? That’s the question that someone else may raise.”

Asked about Obama’s opposition to the pick, Rush said: “They need to take a chill pill. We’re still a nation of laws and I believe that Roland Burris and Governor Blagojevich, they’re on solid constitutional grounds.” In 2000, Obama, then an Illinois state senator, mounted an unsuccessful run for the U.S. House of Representatives by trying to unseat Rush.

Burris contributed $4,500 to the Blagojevich campaign in the past four years, Illinois Board of Elections data show.

His firm lobbied Blagojevich’s office, the General Assembly and regulators for the past seven years on behalf of industries such as cable television, mortgage brokers, funeral directors and utilities, according to registration documents filed with the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office.

“This is simply Rod Blagojevich thumbing his nose at the citizens of Illinois, the U.S. attorney, the rest of the world, and, oh yeah, the United States Congress,” Jay Stewart, executive director of the Chicago-based Better Government Association, said in a telephone interview.

‘Unclean Hands’

Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn, the Democrat who would succeed Blagojevich in the event of the governor’s removal or resignation, said he opposed any appointment.

“I wish Roland had not accepted an appointment from a governor with unclean hands,” Quinn said in a meeting with reporters. Quinn has called for the governor to resign.

Burris is a former bank examiner from rural Centralia, 275 miles (440 kilometers) south of Chicago. He wore a cowboy hat in his 16 years in state government to distinguish him from Chicagoans dominating Illinois politics for most of that time.

Burris’s first state job was as purchasing chief for former Governor Dan Walker, who served a prison sentence for bank fraud after he left office in 1977. Burris went on to win election as state comptroller and then Illinois attorney general.

“I don’t know why on earth Roland would accept this appointment, given that everything the governor touches is tainted,” said Stewart, who testified against the governor during the impeachment hearings.

‘It’s a Circus’

Republicans criticized Democrats who control both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly for failing to remove Blagojevich’s appointment ability when they had the chance.

“It’s a circus,” Andrew McKenna, head of the Illinois Republican Party, said in an interview. “We said this would happen.”

House Speaker Michael Madigan, who also heads the state’s Democratic Party, abandoned plans to hold a special election for the U.S. Senate post three weeks ago after a revolt among Democrats concerned that costs could be too high and they could risk losing the seat to the Republicans. Madigan declined through a spokesman to comment on the appointment of Burris.

To contact the reporters on this story: Joe Carroll in Chicago Jcarroll8@bloomberg.net; James Rowley in Washington jarowley@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 31, 2008 14:43 EST