Burris: 'I am now the junior senator'

CHURCH RALLY | Says he'll report to work quietly

Roland Burris was confident but conceded Sunday that conflicts lie ahead as the choice of embattled Gov. Blagojevich to fill the U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama.

"I am now the junior senator from the state of Illinois," he said from the pulpit of a South Side church on what he said was the eve of his trip to Washington.

Burris and his backers described his future in religious terms, saying his move to the U.S. Senate is preordained.

"Friends, we're going to have to have some powerful prayer. . . . They can't deny what the Lord has ordained,'' said Burris at New Covenant Baptist Church, 740 E. 77th, surrounded by ministers, politicians and activists.

He said he was humbled by the support but said Illinois couldn't send a better person to D.C., citing his history as a four-time-elected statewide officeholder.

Blagojevich's appointment of Burris created an uproar. He made it as he faces allegations he tried to sell Obama's seat -- and foes who want him out of office.

Critics say a defiant Blagojevich used the race card in choosing Burris, the first African American to win statewide office.

Burris said he plans to report quietly for work. "I'm going to be as diplomatic and professional as I can be. I'm going to have to work with the other 99 senators. ... I will not create any theater."

He said he'll tell Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid he was properly appointed.

Citing sources, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Reid told the governor he would prefer he appoint Attorney General Lisa Madigan or state veterans affairs chief Tammy Duckworth over three black, male politicians: U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. or former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones.

But Reid suggested Sunday that the governor made that up.

"In all fairness to leader Reid," Burris said, "he said he didn't say that to the governor."

"How can Harry Reid determine who can get elected to what in Illinois?" Davis said at another rally for Burris. "The African-American community's not going to roll over and play dead. That day is long gone."