Roland Burris | A history in photos

Burris, campaigning for a Senate seat, seeks the endorsement of state and Cook County Democrats at the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago.  (Phil Greer / Chicago Tribune)

Burris debates fellow Democrat Paul Simon in Rosemont, Ill. Simon eventually captured the party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate and went on to defeat Republican Sen. Charles Percy.  (Michael Budrys / Chicago Tribune)

Roland Burris campaigned hard for the Senate nomination. He joined with presidential hopeful Jesse Jackson, center, and Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, right, in Chicago.  (Ovie Carter / Chicago Tribune)

While attorney general, supervising an office of more than 500 lawyers, Burris turned his eyes toward the 1994 governor’s race. Here, Burris boards a plane at Chicago’s Meigs Field in 1993 at the start of an eight-city campaign swing.  (Carl Wagner / Chicago Tribune)

In 1993, Roland Burris organized Chicago’s first Gun Turn-In Day. The following year, he admitted that he kept a handgun in his home. A spokesman said at the time that Burris had forgotten about the weapon.  (Bob Fila / Chicago Tribune)

Burris failed to win the nomination for governor in 1994, and then ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Chicago in 1995. He ran for governor again in 1998 (and lost again), then tried once more in 2002, this time facing then-Rep. Rod Blagojevich. The campaign started early; in 2001, Burris and Blagojevich met while seeking votes at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.  (Seth Perlman / Associated Press)

Burris and fellow Illinois Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Paul Vallas, right, talk as Rod Blagojevich looks to the stage at an event in Chicago, where they debated.  (Stephen J. Carrera / Associated Press)

Roland Burris takes reporters’ questions as he waits for primary election night results at a Chicago hotel. Burris was defeated by Rod Blagojevich, who went on to become governor.  (Candice C. Cusic / Chicago Tribune)

The 2002 primary campaign left no hard feelings. Governor-elect Blagojevich introduces his board of advisors, including Burris, and his transition team during a news conference in Chicago.  (Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune)

Burris at a Chicago gala in 2007.  (Diane Brogan / For The Chicago Tribune)

Burris has built a family tomb in Oak Woods Cemetery on Chicago’s South Side. His tombstone proclaims “Trail Blazer,” and lists his accomplishments -- leaving room for more to come.  (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Burris’ accomplishments, carved in stone at what someday will be his burial site.  (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Rod Blagojevich and Roland Burris made headlines again at the end of 2008 when the beleaguered governor announced the former Illinois attorney general as his choice to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Just a few weeks earlier, Blagojevich, in his second term as governor, had been taken into custody on corruption charges, including trying to sell the appointment to the Senate.  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

Roland Burris arrives on Capitol Hill, hoping to be seated as a United States senator. He was not allowed to take the oath of office.  (Susan Walsh / Associated Press)