This was Lynn Sweet's headline today in the Chicago Sun Times (http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/1884123,CST-NWS-sweet15.article). The Illinois 2010 senate race should provide the residents of Illinois the chance to return respect to the seat that launched Obama to the White House, but was sullied by ex-Governor Blagojevich and embarrassed by sitting interim Senator Roland Burris. Instead, a hodge podge field of democrat wannabes has a lurking anti-progressive Republican Mark Kirk poised to take the seat for Republicans. Certain elections have made me proud to be from Chicago, and Illinois. We've taken unlikely candidates who represented wonderful progressive ideals and put them into office. For Mayor, Harold Washington. For Senate, Paul Simon. Carol Mosley Braun (before she let us down). Obama.
Lynn Sweet provides a simplified breakdown of the IL contenders. Only one appears to me to embody the progressive ideal, and I've now had the benefit of hearing him speak twice. David Hoffman, stands out as having the intellect to do justice to the Obama legacy. Yale educated, University of Chicago Law Degree, and, like Obama did, serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Law School (though teaching a course in Public Corruption, not Constitutional Law). Clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist (but because he's smart, not because he shares his views). He's a former federal prosecutor and Chicago's inspector general, as well as a member of the Illinois Reform Commission assembled by the current governor in the wake of the Blagojevich scandal. He's clearly best-positioned to claim distance from the scandals plaguing the Illinois Democratic party, and is the only candidate who can legitimately offer a reformer's message. His primary weakness is name recognition, but he has the charm and intellect that is quickly winning him supporters in progressive circles.
Alexi Giannoulias clearly has the advantage to win the primary, but may be the most vulnerable in a general election. He's a basketball playmate of Obama's, but the White House isn't expected to wade into the primary. He has looks and charm, and is holder of a statewide office. But he doesn't have any professional accomplishments, and seems ripe for attack by the Republicans in a race where political corruption is sure to be a central theme given that the former governor put this seat up for sale. He has been dogged by stories of his family bank making loans to Tony Rezko that will make for perfect attack ads by Republicans. And he has overseen, as Treasurer, the Illinois 529 Bright Start program, which has been marred by the poor performance of the Oppenheimer Funds and high fees.
The third candidate is Cheryle Jackson. Jackson, who is African-American, spent 2 1/2 years serving Gov. Blagojevich, most recently as his deputy chief of staff of communications. Whether or not she agreed with her former boss' actions as governor, she will need to expend energy to divorce herself of those ties. She is currently CEO of the Chicago Urban League.