A high-profile Illinois Democrat is calling for U.S. Senator Roland Burris to resign. Burris is facing fire from politicians across the state for inconsistencies in his public statements around his appointment by former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Cook County Clerk David Orr says Burris' explanations aren't enough

ORR: It doesn't matter if there's some obscure explanations here and there. The credibility is shot. And we don't need this gamesmanship being played in our U.S senator. We need someone who has the reasonable credibility - Democrat or Republican - in this state who can go to work.

Orr sent a letter to Burris Tuesday asking the junior senator to step down. Orr says he wrote the note "with sadness," calling Burris "a friend."

ORR: He can either do the right thing, or we can go on, they'll be demands for hearings, and they'll be fights, and perhaps it'll be turned in to a racial battle - which I would hope it wouldn't be. All these things which only hurts Illinois, does nothing to advance, frankly, the Obama agenda, nor to fill properly the seat left by Senator Obama.

Meantime, Burris says he welcomes "any and all" investigations into his statements to the state House impeachment committee. Burris has said he will not resign.

Listen to more of Orr's comments.