"You never say never," Burris told ABC News. "What I'm still hearing ... people from all over the country and they are saying, 'Don't give up that seat.'"

That could be true, of course -- but he's not exactly hearing that from voters in Illinois. Nor is he hearing it from people with money to donate to his campaign; one of the reasons for his decision last month was a failure to raise enough to mount a run.

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Burris was appointed to his seat by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich; he was filling a vacancy created by Barack Obama's election to the presidency. Blagojevich made the announcement that he was appointing Burris after he was arrested by federal authorities who charged he'd tried to sell the seat -- that led to a battle between Burris and Senate Democrats, who didn't want to seat him.

In another situation, it might be surprising that Burris is now going to give up the seat he fought so hard to get. But the taint of the former governor has remained on him, and it's been clear for some time he would not be able to win in 2010, or even muster any real support for a campaign.

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On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago released an FBI transcript of a secretly recorded phone conversation between Blagojevich's brother and now-Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., the man Blagojevich named to fill President Obama's vacant Senate seat.

The call occurred prior to Burris' appointment and therefore, the most notable aspect of the conversation is that Burris offered to write the then-governor a campaign check. "I know I could give him a check," Burris said. "Myself."

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The news just out from his PR people is that Blagojevich has scored a six-figure deal with an independent publisher, Phoenix Books, to pen a book about the process of picking Obama's replacement. Somewhere, any lawyers still remaining on the former governor's legal team are cringing and popping Aspirin.

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Sweet reports that, during his meeting with Durbin, Burris will be "sending, directly or indirectly (maybe this is it) two messages: he will not resign in the wake of the controversy surrounding his appointment by the ousted Gov. Blagojevich and he will not run for the seat in 2010. Burris has finally realized that not seeking election next year is the least price he will pay."

Burris has been in hot water lately because of his shifting stories regarding his contacts with aides to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, as well as his attempt to raise money for Blagojevich. He's currently under investigation by a local prosecutor as well as by the Senate Ethics Committee.

Update: A spokesman for Burris is denying the report.

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First, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said Burris should give up his seat over his changing stories regarding his contacts with Quinn's predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, and his aides. Then, Friday afternoon, Burris' chief of staff resigned.

Darrel Thompson had been loaned to Burris from the staff of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It was a goodwill gesture aimed at helping Burris to get started quickly after Reid had tried to keep him from taking the seat to which Blagojevich had appointed him. Now, Thompson's going back to his old job as a senior advisor to Reid.

Thompson hasn't explained his decision yet, but it's not too hard to read the writing on the wall.

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At a press conference, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, who replaced Blagojevich, said Burris should step down "as quickly as possible for the best interests of Illinois ... This should not be a matter that takes weeks."

If Burris does resign, Quinn wants the state Legislature to give him the power to appoint a temporary successor, who'd remain in office until a special election could be held. Illinois Republicans believe the governor has the authority to order a special election anyway, but he said Friday he disagrees.

While Burris is being pressured to resign, that doesn't actually force him to do so. Remember that the Democratic leadership in the Senate didn't want to seat him, or anyone appointed by Blagojevich, but he took the appointment and pushed for the seat anyway.

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Burris tried employing a number of sleights of hand in a speech he gave in Chicago Wednesday, attempting to distract from the controversy that's rained down upon him this week over his rapidly shifting explanations of his relationship with former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his aides.

Falling back on a familiar strategy, Burris emphasized national unity, and stressed his service on behalf of ordinary Americans struggling to cope during the financial crisis. Speaking about the stimulus that President Obama signed Tuesday, Burris said, "we need to make sure it works in the ways in which we intended it... in ways that will have the most impact on our economy and the people that need it most. That is the measure by which I hope I am judged in the Senate, whether I am able to make a difference for the people of Illinois, whether I can through my actions improve their quality of life."

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In January, when he testified before a panel of the Illinois House that was, at the time, considering the impeachment of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Burris said he'd had little contact with aides to the governor, and hadn't been asked for any campaign donations. But in an affidavit filed recently and revealed over the weekend, Burris acknowledged that he'd had conversations with several of Blagojevich's confidants, including his brother Robert, and that Robert Blagojevich asked him about raising money.

That wasn't all. In the affidavit, Burris implied he'd balked at the request. But on Monday night, he told reporters that he had in fact explored the possibility of holding a fundraiser on Blagojevich's behalf.

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Senate lawyers decided Monday afternoon that new paperwork Burris received from the Illinois secretary of state on Friday was sufficient, and that he should be seated. With that hurdle -- a largely symbolic one, used to give cover to the chamber's Democratic leadership -- overcome, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), his deputy, announced that Burris will be sworn in later this week.

The full joint statement from Reid and Durbin:

The Secretary of the Senate has determined that the new credentials presented today on behalf of Mr. Burris now satisfy Senate Rules and validate his appointment to the vacant Illinois Senate seat. In addition, as we requested, Mr. Burris has provided sworn testimony before the Illinois House Committee on Impeachment regarding the circumstances of his appointment.

We have spoken to Mr. Burris to let him know that he is now the Senator-designate from Illinois and as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a Senator-elect.

Accordingly, barring objections from Senate Republicans, we expect Senator-designee Burris to be sworn in and formally seated later this week. We are working with him and the office of the Vice President to determine the date and time of the swearing-in.

As we had outlined to Mr. Burris, a path needed to be followed that respects the rules of the Senate. We committed to Mr. Burris that once those requirements were satisfied, we would be able to proceed. We are pleased that everything is now in order, we congratulate Senator-designee Burris on his appointment and we look forward to working with him in the 111th Congress.

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So what will the Senate leadership do now that a court has said their rationale isn't on solid legal ground? Well, so far there's no word from Majority Leader Harry Reid. But his deputy, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., says they're standing fast. He indicated that the impasse might go on until Gov. Rod Blagojevich is removed from office or resigns and his successor makes a new appointment. That, however, would appear to go against the wishes of President-elect Barack Obama, whose team reportedly asked Senate Dems to move the process along and seat Burris.

Update: Reid spokesman Jim Manley sends out a statement: "The Senate Parliamentarian, the Secretary of the Senate and Senate Legal Counsel are advising Senate Leadership as we consider a way forward."

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Majority Leader Harry Reid and his deputy, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, met with Burris Wednesday morning. In a press availability that followed, Reid repeatedly complimented Burris personally, and addressed the racial issues that have bubbled up throughout the controversy, saying, "One of the first things he said to us, hey, this is nothing that's racial, I understand that. So a lot of people tried to make this a racial issue, but Roland Burris has not and will not."

At the moment, Reid said, he's waiting on two things before proceeding. First, Burris' testimony on Thursday afternoon before the committee of the Illinois state Assembly currently looking into impeaching Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and second, a state Supreme Court decision about whether the Illinois secretary of state has to sign Burris' appointment papers. (The lack of that signature is the rationale that the majority leader has used for keeping Burris out thus far.)

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No more information than that is available so far. First impression, though, is that this news just reinforces the impression that the Democratic leadership handled this really, really badly. If they were going to let him in as of Wednesday, why not seat him Tuesday? Why allow the embarrassing spectacle of Burris walking out in the rain after being turned away? Not a good way to start the new Congress.

Update: A spokesman for Majority Leader says the report is "wrong" and that "there have been no decisions."

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Still, he did refer to himself as "the junior Senator from Illinois," and maintained that the secretary of the Senate's refusal to accept his appointment "was improperly done and is against the law of this land."

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It wasn't supposed to be this way. Rush is the most serious challenger Daley has faced yet. He nearly ran for mayor in 1995, but at the last minute let Joe Gardner, a longtime city bureaucrat, get served up as sacrifice. He also stood by and watched as Daley handily took care of former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris, in the general election. Having to run two campaigns became a hassle for Daley, so he managed to get the Legislature to declare municipal elections "nonpartisan." There would be no more primaries, just one shot, one opposition candidate. For 1999, there was no confusion: Daley's opponent would be Bobby Rush.

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