Here comes the Vultures!

Greg Hinz says that Chicago Urban League CEO Cheryl Jackson is looking at a run for Burris' US Senate seat. Here we go!

Probably the last thing embattled U.S. Sen. Roland Burris needs now is for another prominent African-American to make a move on his Senate seat. But that's exactly what's happening.

Confirming political rumors, Cheryle Jackson, the president and chief executive officer of Chicago Urban League, says "I am considering a race" for the Senate seat now held by Mr. Burris.

"Given the economic crisis, I have to consider what I can bring to the table," Ms. Jackson said in an interview Wednesday. Whether she actually runs depends on where she concludes she can best pursue "my passion" of spurring economic development, she added.

Well I didn't think people would start declaring openly whether or not they'll run against someone. He hasn't been confortable in his Senate seat for a month and people are already lining up against him. Of course we know why, it's been dominating the news since over the weekend.

What did Dick Durbin say today?

“I am troubled by this and I hope he will call in some advisers he trusts and gets some advice about what to do next,” Durbin said of Burris. “At this point, his future in the Senate seat is in question.”
...
“I’m troubled by the fact that his testimony was not complete and it was unsatisfactory,” Durbin said. “It wasn’t the full disclosure under oath that we were asking for.”
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“Every day, there are more and more contacts with the Blagojevich administration,” Durbin said. “Then there was the issue about fundraising and more information about what he did about fundraising.

Senator where were you when Sen. Burris finally took his oath of office last month. You were one of the many people who was in the way of his seating? Then when the race card comes out or you waffled on legislation that would call for a special election to fill President Obama's then vacant Senate seat you and others were more concerned about a Republican winning that seat. And that opened the door for Rod to assert his authority even as his political career was coming to an end.

I just hope the truth comes out and if Senator Burris has a very short Senate tenure because of it, then so be it. As long as we can look forward to put in someone who doesn't have the baggage that Burris seems to have at this moment.

What a mess!

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Which Governor Is Wackier?

This op/ed by Maureen Dowd about the respective US Senate appointments by both Gov. Blagojevich and NY Gov. Patterson. Instapundit who links the article said that Obama got rolled on for these respective picks.

I love Blago.

I love his beady little eyes. I love his Serbian shock of hair. I love his flaring nostrils. I love the way he jogs through the snow under indictment, like a stork in spandex trying to gallop. I love the way he compares himself in quick order to Pearl Harbor, Oliver Wendell Holmes and a dead cowboy.

I love the hurly-burly way the Illinois governor rammed through his choice for the Senate, compared with the namby-pamby way the New York governor strangled his best choice for the Senate.

So now we have an N.R.A. handmaiden in Bobby Kennedy’s old seat? Kirsten Gillibrand, a k a Tracy Flick, accepting the honor with her Republican pal Al D’Amato beside her on stage? Gross.

After quoting Kipling and Tennyson in previous shameless press conferences, Blago moved on to an old cowboy movie analogy on Friday to explain why he should be allowed to call Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett and Jesse Jackson Jr. as witnesses at the impeachment trial he’s refusing to attend.

Oh wait more is coming she talks about his media blitz from this past Friday:

Raising his own high bar for chutzpah, he complained to The Associated Press about his arrest, “Dec. 9 to my family, to us, to me, is what Pearl Harbor Day was to the United States.”

Even though he is accused of pressuring The Chicago Tribune — fire members of the editorial board who had criticized him or lose his help in selling the prime asset Wrigley Field — Blago called on The Tribune to write editorials defending his rights.

Mayor Richard Daley pronounced Blago “cuckoo.” Governor Paterson is simply a goofball.

I'm sure you would want to know how the selection process went in New York or even Colorado with Sen. Ken Salazar heading to the Senate, but for the purposes of the blog, that not Illinois-centric enough so you should read the whole thing.

I should ask though did Blagojevich and Patterson flex their muscle against the currently popular President of the United States in making their Senate appointments?

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Hotline on Burris Appointment

Check out what Hotline says about the current state drama with regards to Blagojevich's pick to succeed the President-elect in his vacated Senate seat. Of course it's brief as they cover two other US Senate stories.

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Blagojevich to name Burris to Senate

From the Tribune. At this point in time I'm not sure I want my name attached to a disgraced Governor, especially with the knowledge that the US Senate might not allow me to be admitted into the chamber. I suppose since the Governor is fighting the current charges against him, he might as well appoint a man to fill Obama's seat.

Apparently he's been making noises since Obama's ascension to the Presidency as well as not too long after the Governor's arrest for attempting to sell off the vacant US Senate seat to the highest bidder.

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Illinois US Senate replacements

I'm sure this has been discussed to death either here or on The Capitol Fax. Still what do you think would happen if Senator Obama is actually elected President of the United States? Would Blagojevich actually be able to appoint himself to the US Senate?

Look at what HotlineTV says about what's going on in Illinois.

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Durbin on 'Cruise Control'

With no credible opposition in the wings, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin's 2008 re-election campaign appears to be on cruise control. His approval numbers are solidly in the 60% range. And in a hypothetical race between Durbin and his oft-perceived strongest challenger, former Republican Governor Jim Edgar -- Durbin holds a commanding 53%-32% lead.

In our survey of 600 registered Illinois voters, 60% approve of the job Dick Durbin is doing while 22.5% disapprove of the job he is doing. Senator Durbin's job approval is above 50% in every region of the state.

Durbin's approval rating runs 10% ahead of Rod Blagojevich's job approval ratings. And his disapproval is 20% lower than the Democrat Governor.

The only marginally soft spot for Sen. Durbin appears to be the Collar Counties:

67% Cook County
65% Chicago
50% Collar Counties
56% West/Northwest
66% Central
74% Southern

Read the crosstabs here.

And it's no surprise that former Governor Edgar quickly dismissed talk of a challenge to Senator Durbin given the 21 point lead in a hypothetical matchup with the former Gov.

While Edgar holds a lead within the margin of error in the Collar Counties and the Northwest part of the state, Durbin holds landslide leads in Cook County and the City of Chicago as well as comfortable leads in Central and Southern Illinois. Read the crosstabs here.

With 16 months until the election, the eventual Republican nominee will likely face a Durbin squeeze play: landslide numbers in Cook County and the City, combined with his strong support in Central and Southern Illinois. The only region of the state at play will be the collar counties and northwest Illinois and that's a potential recipe for a Durbin landslide re-election.

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