Progress Illinois

In a statement this afternoon, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias lambasted Gov. Blagojevich's selection of Roland Burris to succeed Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate:

The question here is not whether Roland Burris would make a good Senator. The question is whether Blagojevich should have the right to make the appointment. Regardless of whether he wanted to appoint Mother Theresa or Abraham Lincoln, I believe Blagojevich lost that right when he allegedly attempted to sell the Senate seat to the highest bidder. He abused his power and should lose his appointment power. ... In the best interest of the people of Illinois, I encourage Secretary of State White to refuse to certify the appointment.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky had a similar response.  From WBEZ:

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Talking to the Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet, Ab Mikva said that if there is ultimately a special election to fill Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate Seat, he's supporting Rep. Jan Schakowsky:

Abner Mikva, the gold standard for integrity in Illinois politics, told me Thursday night he is not interested in an appointment to replace President elect Barack Obama. And when there is an election to fill the Obama seat, Mikva said his candidate is Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)

Not a bad guy to have on your side.

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On Monday night, labor leaders, organizers, and workers from the closed plant gathered on Chicago's West Side to celebrate the success of the Republic Windows sit-in last week.  In the Teamsters auditorium on Ashland and Van Buren, the crowd of supporters ate tamales, watched a slideshow, sang several rousing anthems, and listened to brief speeches from a variety of prominent supporters in the labor community, as well as some of the former Republic Windows employees.  The video below includes several excerpts from the program:

The Chicago Interfaith Committee On Workers Issues organized the event, with the proceeds benefiting the laid-off Republic workers.

For more on the Republic Windows saga, be sure to check out Kari Lydersen's "Live Book" project on the Melville House Publishing website.  And if you're late to the issue and looking for a recap, the Community Media Workshop's Curtis Black has put together a useful overview.  Finally, you can review our full coverage here.

UPDATE: Also check out Chip Mitchell's WBEZ report on the longstanding racial divide among the Republic workers and how the sit-in "all but erased the black-brown tensions."

UPDATE II: BuzzFlash.com has given its recurring "Wings of Justice" award to the Republic Windows workers. Check out their write-up here.

On MSNBC just now, Norah O'Donnell asked Rep. Jan Schakowsky about Lt. Gov. Quinn's suggestion that a temporary replacement be appointed to Illinois' vacant U.S. Senate seat until a special election can be held.  Schakowsky didn't overtly endorse the idea, but said, "I understand that, because there's going to be a number of votes that may proceed any special election and we want to make sure that there's a full complement of senators representing Illinois."  Schakowsky also made clear she is not interested in the temporary appointment, saying, "I want that seat through an election."  Watch:

Speaking of the potential special election, county clerks around the state are really worried about the cost:

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On Friday, I painted the decision over how to fill Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat as an either/or situation: either the legislature calls a special election or Pat Quinn becomes acting governor and makes the appointment himself.  But since Friday night, Quinn has begun floating a new scenario in which he would appoint an interim senator and a special election would follow in the spring.  On NBC5's City Desk this morning, Quinn emphasized that Illinois needs a second senator, adding, "If something can be worked out where there's always a senator that replaces Barack Obama and ultimately there's a special election, I'm willing to consider that."  Watch:

Appearing on NBC's Meet The Press with Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, Quinn was a bit more specific.  He said he'd seen "a bill on Friday night that would provide for a temporary appointment to the U.S. Senate until we could have a special election."  Madigan later asserted that a special election "is the best thing for the people of the state."  Watch:

I haven't seen any reporting on the bill to which Quinn referred.  I gave him a call yesterday seeking more specifics, but it hasn't been returned.  We'll let you all know if we learn anything more about this proposal.

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Last night, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (via satellite) and State Sen. Kwame Raoul (in studio) appeared on MSNBC's Hardball to discuss their dealings with and impressions of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.  Raoul said it was "doubtful" he ever had a chance at getting appointed to Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat.  Schakowsky said that she believed she was never on Blagojevich's short-list -- despite his assertions to the contrary -- because he never asked her for anything:  

As an aside, what's Kwame doing in D.C.?  (See answer in comments.)

Last night, Rep. Jan Schakowsky made it clear that, if and when there is a special election to fill Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat, she'll be running.  From The Seminal:

At the end of her speech, Schakowsky threw her hat in the ring, announcing that she was “passing around a clipboard” for people to sign up to be on an organizing committee for her “Senate race, and a basket for donations will follow right behind.” The audience cheered.

As Josh recently remarked, it's hard to imagine a more qualified progressive candidate entering the race.

On the flip side, Rep. Mark Kirk isn't the only Illinois Republican who sees a political opportunity in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's arrest. Politico has this little nugget about sixth district Rep. Peter Roskam:

Kirk isn’t the only credible Illinois Republican mulling a Senate bid. A source close to Rep. Peter J. Roskam said the second-term congressman is also “very interested” in running for the Senate seat and wouldn’t automatically defer to Kirk. Roskam has a more conservative voting record than Kirk and has won election to a suburban Chicago seat during two rough election cycles for the GOP.

As we did yesterday with Kirk, here are some Roskam lowlights from the past year:

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As the national press tries to connect the dots in the scandal embroiling Gov. Rod Blagojevich, some veteran Illinois legislators are making the media rounds to give their insights. On his eponymous CNN program last night, Larry King hosted Attorney General Lisa Madigan and U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Danny Davis, both considered contenders for the open Senate seat at the center of some charges against the governor. Schakowsky and Davis each told King that they had talked individually to Blagojevich in recent weeks about the Senate appointment but neither recalled any discussion of horsetrading.  Schakowsky added that the allegations against the governor are enough to demand a resignation, a view she shares with the President-elect. Watch:

As Schakowsky acknowledges, the fact that Blagojevich never asked her for anything is proof that she was not actually in contention for the seat.  If the General Assembly is successful in setting up a special election for the vacant post, however, it seems pretty likely she'll throw her hat in that ring.  If that happens, it's hard to imagine a more progressive candidate entering the race.

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Rep. Jan Schakowsky just put out the following statement, which urges the governor to resign and the legislature to impeach him if he refuses to do so:

“This is a sad day for the people of Illinois.  The charges against Governor Blagojevich are very serious and damaging.  It is in the best interest of the State of Illinois that Governor Blagojevich resign from office immediately.  If he does not resign, the state legislature should reconvene for a special session immediately and begin impeachment proceedings against Governor Blagojevich.  I have already called the Illinois Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan, and Illinois State Senate President, Emil Jones, to ask them to come back into session to begin impeachment proceedings.”

Attorney General Lisa Madigan echoes that sentiment in her own release:

Public officials are elected to serve the people of this state and to uphold the trust of the people who have elected them.

It is absolutely clear that the Governor is incapable of governing.

At a time when our state faces tremendous challenges, Governor Blagojevich cannot faithfully exercise the powers of his office. 

Governor Blagojevich should immediately resign and allow Lt. Governor Quinn to succeed him. [Emphasis in original]