Roland Burris Blazes A Trail
via flickr; Detail of Burris tombstone, Chicago SunTimes.com /Artwork: designslinger]
Have you heard about the new Senator-in-waiting from Illinois? There is a swirl of
controversy around the appointment of Roland Burris to fill out the remainder of Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat, and one of the tidbits reported in the media (that I found fascinating) was Mr. Burris' elaborate mausoleum. If nothing else, I'd say this guy has chutzpah. He's had a list of "Major Accomplishments" along with "Other Major Accomplishments" carved into pink granite. He left a blank space beneath the inscription, "FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN IN ILLINOIS TO BECOME" which was meant to be filled with the words, "Governor of Illinois." While the governorship eluded him, he won't be able to carve "Senator" into the opening - whether he takes his seat or not.
Joseph Medill McCormick gravestone, Matt Hucke, graveyard.com /Artwork: designslinger]
I wondered about the final resting places of some of Illinois' other Senators, and found
some interesting comparisons to Mr. Burris' grand burial plot. So, going from left to right in our picture panel, we'll start with Lyman Trumbull. I selected Senator Trumbull because the Chicago neighborhood I grew up in had a street named after him, and figured if he was worth a street, he was worth a grave marker investigation. A lawyer and businessman, Trumbull's term ran from 1855 to 1873. He was a very prominent member of the anti-slavery faction of the Senate; not a popular position for a Democratic Party member during that period in history. The center picture marks the final resting place of one Charles B. Farwell, who served in the Senate from 1887-1891. He was a wealthy banker/businessman from Chicago, who was elected City Clerk in 1852. Farwell is considered to be Chicago's first political "Boss," credited with creating the city's very first political machine. Then we have the gravestone of Senator Joseph Medill McCormick. Now here was a pedigree. McCormick's grandfather was Joseph Medill the founder of the Chicago Tribune, a Chicago mayor, and a very powerful mover and shaker in Illinois politics. McCormick's father was the nephew of Cyrus McCormick who invented the mechanical reaper, a piece of machinery that revolutionized farming, and made many a McCormick very wealthy. Medill (as he was known in the family) had a brother Robert, who became the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and one of the titans of the newspaper industry. Medill served from 1919 until 1924 when he lost his Senate seat, and was apparently so distraught over the loss, he committed suicide.
Stephen A. Douglas Memorial Monument, wikipedia.org /Artwork: designslinger]
One of the most legendary men to come out of Illinois and serve in the U.S. Senate
was Everett R. Dirksen. He served from 1950 until his death in 1969, and spent 10 of those years as a very powerful Minority Leader. His impact was so vast that government buildings around the country bear the Dirksen name. Paul Simon served from 1985 to 1997 and was one of the leading voices among the liberals in the Democratic Party. He won reelection in 1990 with 65% of the vote and a 1 million vote plurality, higher than any contested candidacy for the Senate, or governorship, that year. This gets us to the tomb of Senator Stephen A. Douglas, a landmark I'm familiar with from my years in Chicago. It is a very grand monument, unlike any of the Senators I've mentioned so far. (Well, Burris may be in the running). Douglas represented Illinois from 1847 until his death in 1861. He was famous for his debates with Abraham Lincoln during the Illinois Senate campaign in 1858, and the two gentlemen ran against each other for President in 1860. Considered a "Lion of the Senate," Douglas lost favor with his fellow Democrats in 1861 when he opposed the Southern secession at the start of the Civil War, and stood up for the Union.
If Roland Burris actually takes his seat in the Senate, he may establish a record befitting
his substantially designed burial site. I have to say, the results of my unofficial survey of other Senator's memorial tributes to themselves, revealed that Mr. Burris is in a class by himself - even before stepping on to the Senate floor.
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