What Roland Burris didn't say

Illinois Senator Roland Burris is coming under fire again after he disclosed that the brother of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich approached him for a contribution to the governor's campaign.

At a Sunday news conference, Burris acknowledged that he did not disclose the discussions to the Illinois state legislature when it was investigating Blagojevich last month because he was not directly asked. Burris testified to the legislative committee investigating Blagojevich.

The junior senator from Illinois denied on Sunday that he donated any money or raised any money for Blagojevich. "I've always conducted myself with honor and integrity," Burris said.

After Burris testified last month, the governor was convicted in impeachment hearings and removed from office. But the state's new Democratic governor, Pat Quinn, says Burris owes the public an explanation.

Now at least one Republican has called on Burris to resign. "I can't believe anything that comes out of Mr. Burris at this point," state Rep. Jim Durkin told the Associated Press. "I think it would be in the best interest of the state if he resigned," Durkin said.

Some Chicago journalists are also unhappy with Burris's explanation. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown has called Burris a liar. "I'll leave it to the proper investigative bodies to decide whether Roland Burris committed perjury last month in testimony before the Illinois House impeachment committee," Brown wrote today. "From a strict legal perspective, maybe he didn't. But I'll tell you straight up, our new U.S. senator proved himself to be a lying little sneak," Brown wrote.

Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg agreed. "Roland Burris lied on his job application," Steinberg wrote. He lied, under oath, about Rod Blagojevich hitting him up for money before he was tapped to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat. Any middle manager caught doing the same thing would be out on his ear."

"If Roland Burris were white, he'd be walking the plank in the U.S. Senate now," The Chicago Daily Observer's Thomas Roeser wrote. "But being that he's black, it is clear that Burris' removal would spark a racial confrontation which the Democrats probably want to avoid."