Photograph provided by Illinois attorney general's officeWhen it comes to politicians who could challenge Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2010, the name most often touted is that of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
The daughter of long-time Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, D-Chicago, is a credible candidate in her own right who has developed a respectable record overseeing the office that serves as a lawyer for Illinois government agencies.
She also has an intellect and ambitions of her own that are big enough to warrant advancement some day. Lisa Madigan is destined for bigger and better things than the attorney general’s office.
The only real question is whether she has the taste for the political brawl that is guaranteed to ensue if she dared to take on a two-term incumbent governor – even one whose popularity among Illinoisans is as challenged as Blagojevich.
Insofar as Republicans are concerned, I have no clue as to who will take on Blagojevich when he tries to run for a third term as Illinois governor. The lack of support that Judy Baar Topinka received from GOP organizations in 2006 across the state is bound to scare off any credible prospects for the top post in Illinois government.
Some have speculated that Jim Oberweis, the suburban Chicago dairy owner who currently is running for a seat in Congress, is merely using that post to build up a record to make a future run for governor.
Personally, the most interesting proposal I have heard about a Blagojevich successor comes from a Chicago Tribune reader who was complaining about the incumbent governor on the newspaper’s web site.
That reader would like to see the loser of the Clinton/Obama presidential primary fight return to Illinois and challenge Blagojevich come 2010.
It won’t happen, even though Obama’s current term in the U.S. Senate expires that same year. Obama is on a political career path that definitely is meant for bigger and better things than dealing with the Springpatch crowd.
And if Hillary Clinton seriously tried to re-establish herself as an Illinoisan (she’s a Park Ridge native) after going to the trouble of becoming a New Yorker to run for U.S. Senate, she’d be opening herself up to intense charges of being a “political carpetbagger.”
You have to admit, though, both would be seriously qualified for the post, thereby making it a unique proposal.
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The daughter of long-time Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, D-Chicago, is a credible candidate in her own right who has developed a respectable record overseeing the office that serves as a lawyer for Illinois government agencies.
She also has an intellect and ambitions of her own that are big enough to warrant advancement some day. Lisa Madigan is destined for bigger and better things than the attorney general’s office.
The only real question is whether she has the taste for the political brawl that is guaranteed to ensue if she dared to take on a two-term incumbent governor – even one whose popularity among Illinoisans is as challenged as Blagojevich.
Insofar as Republicans are concerned, I have no clue as to who will take on Blagojevich when he tries to run for a third term as Illinois governor. The lack of support that Judy Baar Topinka received from GOP organizations in 2006 across the state is bound to scare off any credible prospects for the top post in Illinois government.
Some have speculated that Jim Oberweis, the suburban Chicago dairy owner who currently is running for a seat in Congress, is merely using that post to build up a record to make a future run for governor.
Personally, the most interesting proposal I have heard about a Blagojevich successor comes from a Chicago Tribune reader who was complaining about the incumbent governor on the newspaper’s web site.
That reader would like to see the loser of the Clinton/Obama presidential primary fight return to Illinois and challenge Blagojevich come 2010.
It won’t happen, even though Obama’s current term in the U.S. Senate expires that same year. Obama is on a political career path that definitely is meant for bigger and better things than dealing with the Springpatch crowd.
And if Hillary Clinton seriously tried to re-establish herself as an Illinoisan (she’s a Park Ridge native) after going to the trouble of becoming a New Yorker to run for U.S. Senate, she’d be opening herself up to intense charges of being a “political carpetbagger.”
You have to admit, though, both would be seriously qualified for the post, thereby making it a unique proposal.
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