More Ammo for Critics of Senator Roland Burris

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Family Business

The son of embattled Illinois Democratic Senator Roland Burris was hired five months ago to a $75,000 a year job under then-Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports Roland Burris II is a senior counsel for the state's Housing Development Authority. That agency's mission includes overseeing mortgage programs for low-income home buyers and anti-foreclosure initiatives.

The interesting thing is Burris II got the job six weeks after the IRS slapped a $34,000 lien on him and three weeks after a mortgage company filed a foreclosure suit on his Chicago home.

Illinois State Republican Rep. Jim Durkin of Western Springs says the fact that Burris faces foreclosure but is working at a housing-related state agency "reeks of hypocrisy."

A spokeswoman for the agency says there is nothing improper about Burris' employment there.

Ice Breaker

Immigration rights groups are angry with President Obama for breaking what they call his personal commitment to change Bush-era immigration raids.

The Washington Times reports on the backlash after immigration agents raided a business in Washington state this week and detained illegal immigrants. During his campaign, Mr. Obama criticized such raids as ineffective.

One immigration rights advocate, Cynthia Buiza from Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, says: "This is about holding public officials accountable to the things they promised during the campaign."

Another asks, "What are Latino and immigrant voters to think? They turn out in massive numbers for change and yet 'change we can believe in' turns out to be 'business as usual.'"

Three’s a Crowd

Familiar names are popping up from the 2008 campaign cycle. The New York Post reports Mayor Michael Bloomberg was very critical of Democratic Governor David Paterson during a private meeting with Republican leaders Wednesday.

Bloomberg, who is an independent, said former GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani would make a "great governor" and that Giuliani would have to run if Paterson is the nominee in 2010.

In Ohio, Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as "Joe the Plumber," is back and considering a run for Congress. He tells Politico, "If I became a congressman I would literally bang people's heads together and probably get in a lot of trouble."

Off Duty

And in Washington state, a trooper on his way home came up behind a car going 20 miles under the speed limit. The car then turned into a driveway and parked in the garage. The trooper went up to the driver and asked what he was doing. The driver replied "I live here."

The trooper then informed the driver that they were actually in that officer's garage. The Washington State Patrol says the man behind the wheel was promptly arrested and charged with a DUI and driving on a revoked license.

— FOX News Channel's Zachary Kenworthy contributed to this report.