Senator Roland Burris represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate from 2009 to 2010. Governor Rod Blagojevich selected Burris to fill the unexpired term of then-President-elect Barack Obama on December 31, 2008. Burris served on the Armed Services, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Veterans’ Affairs committees. In the Senate, Burris supported President Obama’s legislative agenda, including economic stimulus legislation and the repeal of Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell. He also supported representation for the District of Columbia. Burris received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He was an exchange student on scholarship to study International Law at the University of Hamburg in Germany. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Howard University School of Law.
