Burris quiet amid calls to step down

CHICAGO -- U.S. Sen. Roland Burris left his Chicago home without speaking to reporters for a second day this weekend, even as the calls for his resignation continue to mount.

Burris would say only "good morning" to the reporters asking questions outside his South Side home Sunday before he hopped into a waiting vehicle.

Burris spokesman Jim O'Connor has said the senator has only private events scheduled this weekend.

Just after Burris left, a Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District, Jon Stewart, left a letter at Burris' home calling on him to resign.

Stewart told reporters the letter asks Burris to step down by the end of the day.

The Better Government Association, a nonpartisan government watchdog, is also asking Burris to leave office.

Meanwhile, the Senate's Republican leader said he wants a quick recommendation from the Senate ethics committee on the situation.

The committee has begun a preliminary inquiry, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., hopes the committee will look at the matter quickly. Whatever the recommendation, the full Senate would make a final decision.

At issue is Burris' involvement with now-former governor Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on charges he plotted to sell President Obama's vacant Senate seat for campaign cash or a plum job for himself. Before he was impeached and removed from office, he defied lawmakers by appointing Burris to the Senate.

Now Burris is accused of lying to an Illinois House committee when he testified he hadn't had contact with key Blagojevich staffers or offered anything in return for the seat.

McConnell appeared on CNN's "State of the Union."