CARBONDALE, IL (WSIU) - Former U.S. Senator Roland Burris is giving back to his alma mater.
Burris is donating his collection of political papers to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. The papers document his public service career, including his time as a U.S. Senator, Illinois Comptroller, and Illinois Attorney General. Burris holds the distinction of being the first black elected to a statewide office in Illinois.
Burris says the papers include correspondence, minutes, reports, and proposed bills. He says he believes some papers will attract more attention than others.
"I would think that the senatorial papers, the speeches that I made on the floor, the bills that I sponsored, the bills that I co-sponsored, I think that they would have the most, how should I say, appeal to the students because of the national implications," Burris said.
Burris says his long political career is now officially over, saying that "the political sun has set on the career of Roland Burris."
The papers that Burris donated will be available in the Special Collections Research Center of SIUC's Morris Library.
Matt Howard, WSIU
