'He Broke the Color Barrier'

With Roland Burris saying he won’t seek re-election to the U.S. Senate seat that disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed him to, don’t let Burris’ ties to Blagojevich overshadow the considerable accomplishments he made early in his career. So says Thom Serafin, President and CEO of Serafin & Associates, Inc., in this Fox television interview.

“He broke all those barriers. He understood that education was the key to get ahead in life; education was the way to go from Point A to Point B. So everybody in his family is educated. He’s educated,” Serafin says.

Burris, who grew up in downstate Centralia, sparked a movement to integrate the town’s swimming pool. In 1978, he became the first African-American elected to statewide office when he successfully ran for comptroller. He also served as Illinois attorney general.

“He broke the color barrier and he did a lot of things that most people now take for granted,” Serafin says.

Serafin explains that Burris declined to seek re-election to the Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama because Burris simply cannot raise the millions of dollars necessary to compete with other candidates in a race. Burris plans to spend some time “doing something that he can really put a stamp on – something helpful for the country,” Serafin says.

Meanwhile, Serafin says Lisa Madigan correctly decided to run for re-election at Illinois attorney general, rather than running for governor or the Senate seat held by Burris.

“She made the right decision,” Serafin says. “She’s 42 years old (and) she can do anything with her life. Her kids are four and one. They’ll be five and eight, you know, in four years. I thought it was a very smart decision.”