Illinois Senate Replacements: The Front Runners

As Barack Obama becomes the 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009, it is important to consider who will be replacing him as the junior senator from the state of Illinois. Under Illinois law, the replacement will be named by Governor Rod Blagojevich and will serve the remaining two years of Obama’s term.

Who are some of the candidates?

Today, we’ll look at two of the front runners:

1. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., 43, Chicago

Jackson, Jr. has been mentioned for several months as someone who is actively seeking this position.

Positives: Jackson, Jr is the only African American front runner. His appointment would ensure that there wasn’t a 100% decline in the number of African Americans serving in the upper chamber. Jackson is also very popular on the south side of Chicago, is a charismatic up and coming leader in the Democratic Party, and was one of Obama’s national co-chairs.

Negatives: Largely because of conservative attacks on his father, Jesse Jackson, Sr., the Jackson name has high negatives in conservative areas outside of Chicago, which some claim may make it difficult for Jackson, Jr. to be reelected statewide in 2010.

2. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, 64, Evanston

Schakowsky, a member of the House Democratic Leadership, also has also been campaigning actively for the position. I had the honor of doing some political work with members of her staff this past year, and they were very much positioning themselves for a possible future in the Senate.

Positives: Schakowsky’s district, which includes parts of Chicago’s north side and inner suburbs such as Evanston and Skokie, neighbors Rod Blagojevich’s old district, and the two are apparently fairly close politically. In addition, Schakowsky was one of the first representatives to endorse then state-senator Obama when he ran in the 2004 Illinois Senate primary. What goes around comes around in Illinois politics, and Congresswoman Schakowsky is in better with Obama and Blagojevich than anyone else.

Negatives: Schakowsky’s husband Robert Creamer, former director of the Illinois Public Action Fund, was convicted of one count of failure to collect withholding tax and of bank fraud for writing checks with insufficient funds in 2005. In fairness, it should be noted that the judge said that Creamer acted not out of greed but in an effort to keep his community action group going without cutting programs. Also, Schakowsky had no wrongdoing in this situation. In addition, some commentators claim that Schakowsky’s liberal voting record might not play well in some more conservative areas outside of Chicago.

Full disclosure: Jan Schakowsky is my Congresswoman, and I have had the honor of meeting her on a couple occasions. She is my personal favorite for Obama’s seat.