The Washington Post’s Fix explains the latest:

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s apparent decision to appoint former state attorney general Roland Burris to the Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama further complicates an already difficult situation for state and national Democrats.

Blagojevich has been operating under the cloud of scandal for the past month — since he was arrested following a series of wiretaps that seemed to show he was seeking to sell Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder.

Before Christmas, Blagojevich made clear he had no plans to step down and insisted he was innocent of the corruption charges against him. He had not made any public statement regarding the appointment prior to today’s decision to choose Burris.

While Blagojevich is within his powers as governor to appoint Burris, early signs from Senate Democrats, who have control over who gets seated, are that any appointment by Blagojevich is a non-starter.

“He will not be seated,” predicted one well-connected Democratic source.

Regardless of what Senate Democrats do, Blagojevich has forced the ball into their court by naming Burris.

This was perhaps foreseeable, a result of the Illinios Democratic machine’s unwillingness to risk an election. But some of the blame lies with the President-elect as well. He, after all, could have forcefully urged a special election. Now, the legal challenges and the public embarrassment will keep the story–and the Obama administration’s involvement with it–going for weeks and weeks. Good start, guys.