Poll: Burris would lose in a landslide

Illinois Senator Roland Burris would lose re-election in a landslide if the vote were held today, according to a new Zogby International poll.

Just five percent of Democrats in the state would vote to keep Burris in office, according to the poll. Burris has not said if he would seek re-election in 2010. He has served in office for less than two months, but already he has heard calls for his resignation from members of both parties in his state and from leaders in Washington.

The new state poll, which was commissioned by the Professional Insurance Agents of Illinois, showed Burris getting just 5.3 percent support from likely Democratic voters, compared to 28 percent for state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and 27 percent for state Comptroller Dan Hynes.

It was not clear from media reports if Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was also included in the poll numbers. Jackson disclosed poll results last November that seemed to indicate that he was the frontrunner in a statewide Senate election.

Burris came under fire again last month after he disclosed that the brother of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich approached him for a contribution to the governor's campaign and he had attempted to raise money for the governor before he was appointed to the Senate seat.

The Illinois Democrat acknowledged that he did not disclose the discussions to the Illinois state legislature when it was investigating Blagojevich in January because he was not directly asked when he testified to the legislative committee conducting the investigation.

Burris has also denied that he donated any money or actually raised any money for Blagojevich. "I've always conducted myself with honor and integrity," Burris said.

After Burris testified in January, 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.

Last month, Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. called for a consistent explanation of Burris's dealings with ousted former governor Rod Blagojevich. In an interview with Chicago's ABC7 affiliate, Jackson told reporter Ben Bradley that Burris owed the people of Illinois an explanation. "What's the message we are sending our children with the half truths and deceptions? And so, let the chips fall where they may," Jackson said.

Jackson, whose district includes part of the south side of Chicago, stopped short of calling for Burris to resign, while other voices have made that request in recent days. Both Chicago daily newspapers, The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, have called on Burris to step down, as has new Gov. Pat Quinn.

"This embarrassing episode in Illinois politics needs to end," Jackson told ABC7. Jackson is considered a "likely Senate candidate" for the seat Burris now holds, according to ABC7.