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| Team B for Illinois and Delaware |
| 2008-11-10 |
| Thanks to Tuesday's presidential election, Congress is now two Senators short of a full house. Here's some early grapevine on who's in the running to fill the Illinois and Delaware Senate seats being vacated by the President-elect and his running mate. In the Prairie State, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich will name Sen. Barack Obama's replacement -- that is, if the embattled governor, who is being investigated for corruption, manages to hold onto office. Mr. Blagojevich briefly flirted with the idea of creating a special commission to help make his pick, but appears to have abandoned the idea. The governor has made clear he's in no hurry, and may not announce anything before Christmas. Prominent Illinois politicians have been lobbying for the position for months, including Chicago Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Danny Davis, or Evanston Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Mr. Obama will have some input and both Mr. Jackson and Ms. Schakowsky were heavily active in his campaign. Another person who gets a lot of mention is Tammy Duckworth, a disabled Iraqi war vet and unsuccessful House candidate in 2006 who works in the Blagojevich administration. The governor could also use the pick to shore up his own political position, appointing either Comptroller Dan Hynes or Attorney General Lisa Madigan -- both potential Democratic rivals for his seat in 2010. He could also, for that matter, appoint himself. Over in Delaware, it isn't even yet clear who will do the appointing. Joe Biden has suggested he's in no hurry to relinquish his seat, so the task might fall to incoming Democratic Governor Jack Markell, rather than outgoing Democratic Governor Ruth Ann Minner. Rumors indicate the Delaware political establishment is coalescing around the idea of appointing a placeholder who would carry the seat until 2010, when Mr. Biden's son, Attorney General Beau Biden, could run for the Senate. Among those mentioned are Lt. Gov. John Carney, Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron Steele, former state Rep. Robert Byrd, or Secretary of State Harriet Smith Windsor. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 We have the president and 3rd in line Turbin - Hastert and Biggert did fine, too. I seem to recall an FBI office near Argonne. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2008-11-10 11:07 |
| #4 I thought there was no recall amendment. My dad told me at the last Constitutional Convention in 1970 - King Richard I made sure that went by the wayside. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2008-11-10 11:06 |
| #3 JJ Jr wants it real bad, and I think he'll do whatever it takes. But if Blago appoints himself it could be sweet: Fitzgerald WILL eventually get him and the seat will become vacant. In the meantime there'd be a mad scramble for the governor's mansion. That would be way entertaining. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-11-10 10:29 |
| #2 Nah, not Tammy, smart money is on retiring State Senate President Emil Jones. Emil went to the mat for Blago over the recall amendment. At least then Illinois would have a Senator who brought home some pork |
| Posted by: Rupert Clique5059 2008-11-10 08:41 |
| #1 Duckworth will likely get it. Hate to say anything disparaging about a wounded vet, but if you think The One is a piece of work...wait-out. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-11-10 07:36 |