Illinois Senator Roland Burris has cancelled an event scheduled for today in Rockford—it was meant to be part of his statewide listening tour. His no-show comes as pressure mounts for Burris to clarify what conversations he had with aides to former Governor Rod Blagojevich before his appointment to the Senate.

Yesterday, Crains Chicago Business columnist Greg Hinz reported that Chicago Urban League president Cheryle Jackson is considering a run for Burris’s senate seat. The question of whether the only black U.S. Senator must be replaced with another African-American has long been an undercurrent of the conversation about this seat. To help us tease out the racial politics at play, we’re joined by Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice.