SPRINGFIELD - Roland Burris cleared one key hurdle Thursday on his way to filling president-elect Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat, testifying before an Illinois House committee that he didn't strike any deals with embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich to get the plum appointment. | Burris explains tombstone

The testimony was one condition Senate leaders - who once vowed not to seat any Blagojevich appointee - set this week as they softened their position on allowing Burris' entry.

"I can before this committee state that there was nothing … legal, personal, or political exchanged for my appointment to this seat,'' Burris testified under oath to an Illinois House committee studying whether to impeach the governor.

Later in the day, the committee recommended impeachment, sending the matter to the full House.

But the former Illinois attorney general declined to answer questions about whether he would have gone to federal authorities if he'd been offered such a deal. He also declined to say whether Blagojevich should resign or be impeached, saying he has no control over those issues.

Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on federal charges that include allegations he schemed to sell President-elect Obama's vacant Senate seat.

The second-term governor has denied any wrongdoing, but Senate Democrats had warned that a taint of corruption would strip credibility from anyone Blagojevich named to fill the vacancy. The governor ignored them and appointed Burris on Dec. 30, creating a furor.

Burris, 71, said Thursday he didn't talk to Blagojevich about the Senate seat before the arrest, though he said he expressed interest to some "close friends,'' as well as Lon Monk, a lobbyist and former top aide to the governor.

Burris said the subject came up in the course of conversations about business that his consulting firm might pick up that Monk, due to conflicts of interest over his past employment by the governor, might not be able to handle.

"We did say, 'Lon, if you have any conflicts, consider referring it to us,''' Burris told reporters at a news conference after his testimony. "I did bring up also, 'Lon, I'm interested in that that Senate seat and I think you've got access to the governor, so just let him know that I'm interested.'''

Burris said he didn't know whether Monk ever passed his interest along to Blagojevich.

Under questioning by the panel, Burris said he, his consulting firm and a law firm for which he does some work have donated $21,700 to Blagojevich's campaigns since 2002.

And Burris said he closed his 2002 campaign for governor without repaying a $1.2 million loan to a businessman who also made contributions to Blagojevich. Burris said he'd never been asked to repay the money.

State Rep. Bill Black, a Republican, also questioned Burris about whether his business partner, Fred Lebed, consulted with Burris about Patty Blagojevich, the governor's wife, landing what Black called a "position with a nice salary'' in August 2008 with the Chicago Christian Industrial League. Lebed sits on the board of the nonprofit agency, which serves the homeless.

"No, he did not check with me at all about that,'' Burris said.

Burris has all along denied doing anything improper to get the appointment. Declaring himself as Illinois' junior Senator, Burris went to Washington D.C. to be sworn in Tuesday and was turned away from the Capitol in the rain.

It wasn't long before Democrats began their hasty retreat, bowing to pressure from Obama and other Democrats that the dispute was damaging to the party.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday that one of the necessary steps before seating Burris would be him giving his sworn testimony to the state's impeachment inquiry. Reid said Thursday that he hadn't decided whether Burris' testimony improved the chances he would be seated.

"I haven't heard anything about his testimony. I've got to see what he said, I've no idea. He's completed it?'' Reid said coming off the Senate floor after closing business for the night.

Told that Burris had said that he didn't strike any agreement with Blagojevich to win the seat, Reid replied: "We'll have to look at it.''

Obama had spoken to Reid on Monday about the importance of quickly resolving the standoff, according to Democratic officials. Reid was told by Obama that if Burris had the legal standing to be seated, it should be done "sooner rather than later,'' said an Obama transition aide, speaking on condition of anonymity because the conversation was private.

The dispute had taken on racial overtones after comments by some supporters of Burris, who would be the Senate's only black member following Obama's departure.

On Wednesday, the day after Burris was turned away from the Capital, he was invited in to meet with Reid and the No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Later, Reid and Durbin said they thought highly of Burris and they were merely waiting for procedural matters to be resolved before he could be seated.

Burris still hasn't been able to take the oath of office to join the newest members of the 111th Congress. He has said he should be able to join the Senate "very shortly.''

While meeting with Reid and Durbin and testifying to the state impeachment committee were among the steps toward Burris taking his seat, Senate leaders have said they also are waiting on the Illinois Supreme Court to rule on whether Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White must sign Burris' certification to comply with Senate rules.

Finally, the Senate would almost certainly vote on whether to seat Burris, Reid said.

The process still could take several weeks, Senate officials have predicted.

Associated Press Writer Laurie Kellman in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.