"It has been one of the highest honors and privileges of my life to have served the people of Illinois in the United States Senate. In a state that represents the crossroads of a nation, I have met so many men and women who've taken different journeys, but hold common hopes for their children's future. It is these Illinois families and their stories that will stay with me as I leave the United States Senate and begin the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and common dreams of all Americans as our nation's next President."
More people e-mail me to ask about the Illinois Senate than about the presidential transition. Many peddle the conspiracy theory that Gov. Rod Blagojevich will appoint himself in order to somehow escape the various federal investigations his administration has spawned. That's not likely. He's also not likely to appoint Valerie Jarrett to the job; she doesn't want it; she'd rather spent the next four-to-eight years with her best buddy, Barack Obama, in the White House. None of the mentioned candidates seem ideal: the biggest knock against Jesse Jackson, Jr. is that in 2010, he'd do poorly "downstate" -- i.e, among white people -- because his name is Jesse Jackson. Iraq War hero Tammy Duckworth has a fan in incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, but Chicago liberals are still smarting from the DCCC's support of Duckworth over Christine Celegis in a 2006 house primary. State Senate President Emil Jones Jr. is a friend of Barack Obama's, but reformers regard him as a traditional Cook County politician. Then there's the problem of the Blago taint: whoever he picks might be associated with him, and the governor, as the New York Times points out today, has a 13% approval rating.
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