Maybe this is too parochial for a bbs that serves the entire world, and probably more, but if Sen. Obama wins his next election, then Illinois will need a replacement senator to serve out his term. The wildly unpopular governor, Blagojevich is obligated to appoint someone. Some are suggesting that he’ll pick himself. Have there been any names floated on the net? I don’t spend any time in the blogosphere so I don’t know. Who might our next senator be?
NPR has suggested Emil Jones, current President of the Illinois Senate. He’s 73 or thereabouts, so he’d only finish out this term and not run for re-election. They’ve also suggested Jesse Jackson Jr (not to be confused with his father!) They seem to think that Blagojevich would pick a black Democrat.
- Emil Jones, current State Senator and friend of Blagojevich. He’s not without controvery and, as mentioned above, is old.
2-12) Any of the 11 Illinois Democratic Representatives. If Bill Foster loses IL-14 (having won it by a slim margin earlier in the year), he’ll be looking for a job. Jesse Jackson Jr. is another oft-named name.
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Blagojevich himself
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Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Popular – would have a good shot at re-election (unlike Jones or Blagojevich) and would not represent a challenger to Blagojevich if he sticks around to run for re-election.
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Tammy Duckworth (mentioned by the governor in an interview.) She’s the director of the Illinois VA department. She lost a run at the House already.
Eliminating the least plausible Representatives and maybe throwing in a few more state-level names, you’ve probably got a list of 12+ reasonable speculations.
Not only is it appropriate for this board, we already have a thread on it. 