Progress Illinois

Originally posted at 8:43 a.m.

During an appearance moments ago on Fox Chicago's Good Morning Chicago, State Rep. John Fritchey announced that he's entering the race for the 5th Congressional District.  Here are his remarks announcing the decision:

FRITCHEY: I've looked at this for many, many weeks now to see if this was the right choice to make.  I think it's a very unique time in history.  I came into the general assembly with President-elect Obama.  We both came into the Illinois legislature in 1996. I think the opportunity to serve in an Obama administration -- in that Congress -- is a unique opportunity.  The 5th District is a great district.  It runs from the lakefront all the way to the Dupage County line.  It's a great cross-section of the city and suburbs.  I'm honored to have just an attempt to even try to represent the district.

Fritchey is expected to have major support from the Democratic committeemen in the district, which will certainly give him a boost.  He's got some catching up to do on the fundraising front, however.

(I'd include a brief clip of Fritchey's comments, but would rather not risk having FOX Chicago shut down Progress Illinois' BlipTV account as well.)

UPDATE (9:10 AM): Fritchey actually let the cat out of the bag on his Facebook profile late last night, writing that he was "humbled and honored to let his Facebook friends be among the first to know that he is a candidate for Illinois' 5th Congressional District!"  He's also set up a campaign page on Facebook.

UPDATE II (9:30 AM): The Sun-Times' Fran Spielman reports that Ald. Tom Allen's decision yesterday not to run for the 5th District seat "open[s] the door for City Council colleague Pat O'Connor (40th) to nail down the Democratic Party's pivotal endorsement."  The Cook County Democratic Committee -- comprised of committeemen from each of Chicago's 50 wards and all 30 of the outlying townships -- will "convene in two to three weeks" to slate a candidate for the race, according to the article.