Federal officials interview Burris

Sen. Roland Burris of Illinois was interviewed by federal authorities for several hours Saturday as part of the ongoing corruption investigation into charges that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to sell a Senate seat for personal or political profit, sources familiar with the talks said.

Burris’ interview took place at his attorney’s offices in downtown Chicago.

He has been informed he is not a target of the probe, the sources said.

Burris acknowledged a week ago that federal investigators wanted to talk to him about the circumstances surrounding his appointment by Blagojevich, which occurred three weeks after the former governor was arrested on federal corruption charges.

Among the charges filed against Blagojevich are allegations he tried to peddle the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama in exchange for a Cabinet post, an ambassadorship or high-paying private positions for himself and his wife.

Philadelphia

Newspaper group files bankruptcy

The Journal Register Co., publisher of the New Haven (Conn.) Register and other newspapers, filed for Chapter 11 protection Saturday, joining at least two other publishers that turned to bankruptcy court in recent months.

The Yardley, Pa.-based company said in a statement posted Saturday on its Web site that it expects to operate as usual during restructuring and didn’t anticipate any interruption in business.

The publisher has been struggling for months with sagging circulation and advertising revenues and a massive debt, which pushed its credit rating into junk status. The company’s stock, which traded as high as $23.875 a decade ago, was removed from the listings of the New York Stock Exchange in April and traded for less than one cent on Friday.

In the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Journal Register proposed a restructuring plan in which it would cancel its stock and become a closely held company controlled by its lenders.