The Song of Roland Gets Sweeter

According to the Boston Globe, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled my reading of the Illinois Constitution was correct, and Roland Burris did not need his state's Secretary of State to sign anything for him to be legally appointed to the Senate. To make things even more interesting, the IL SoS went ahead and signed a letter affirming the appointment.

The Senate has no right to make up their own rules about who may or may not be a Senator. While the Senate is a Federal body, the elections and appointments to the Senate are strictly the right of the individual states. The only qualifications the Senate is allowed to bar a person for are not meeting the very short list in the US Constitution:

1. At least 25 years old
2. A Citizen of the United States for at least seven years
3. At the time of election, must be a legal resident of the state in which he has been chosen

That's the list. A sitting Senator may be expelled, but it takes a 2/3 majority vote to do so.