By Salena Zito, TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, July 5, 2009 Thanks to vacancies created by last fall's election, then-president-elect Barack Obama faced the drama of finding credible, re-electable bodies to fill those seats. Remember the good old days of whether Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich could legally appoint someone to replace Sen. Obama? And the near-anointment of Caroline Kennedy to replace New York's Sen. Hillary Clinton? After much controversy, Roland Burris took Obama's Senate seat; New York Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand replaced Hillary; Vice President Joe Biden's former chief of staff, Ted Kaufman, took his Delaware seat in the Senate; and Michael Bennet of Colorado took Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's Senate chair. The 17th Amendment established direct election of U.S. senators, empowering each state legislature to create a... [read full story]
