Burris may return to the U.S. Senate next week

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roland Burris, buoyed by a favourable court ruling, may return to the U.S. Senate next week and demand to be sworn in to fill the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, a Burris adviser said on Saturday.

"Roland is considering going back to the Senate and his advisers are urging him to do so -- unless this is suddenly resolved by Monday," the adviser said on condition of anonymity.

On Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled as valid embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appointment of fellow Democrat Burris to the Senate seat.

Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell that seat to the highest bidder and was impeached Friday by the Illinois state House. He faces a trial that could remove him from office.

Burris, 71, a former Illinois attorney general, failed to gain entry to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday when the chamber's secretary rejected as incomplete his credentials for the seat.

U.S. Senate rules say certification of his appointment was needed from the Illinois secretary of state.

That official, Jesse White, had refused to certify Burris' appointment because of the Blagojevich charges. But after the court ruling, he signed a separate statement certifying that Burris' appointment letter was legally filed with the state.

Aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said it was unclear if White's signed statement would meet the Senate's certification requirement.