Former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris will be sworn into the U.S. Senate tomorrow afternoon. 

The party leaders initially said they would refuse to seat Burris after he was unexpectedly appointed by scandal-plagued Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Today, Blagojevich swears in a state legislature which is determined to oust him. And, much of the focus remains on the twists and turns of the soap opera that is “Illinois politics.”

John McCarron says it’s time to get focused on the real issues. He’s an urban affairs consultant and a former member of the Chicago Tribune editorial board. He wrote an op-ed for the paper earlier this week and joined us to talk about the financial implications of all the attention on political troubles in Illinois.

Music Button: Thievery Corporation, “Shaolin Satellite”, from the CD Sounds from the Thievery HiFi, (ESL records)