The Illinois Senate returns to Springfield Wednesday for the fall veto session. But the talk among lawmakers is more likely to be about leadership that legislation.
Senate President Emil Jones announced this summer he was stepping down. Wednesday night, Senate Democrats will get together at an Italian restaurant in Springfield. There, the half-dozen or so candidates jockeying to replace Jones will try to woo their colleagues.
SCHOENBERG: There’s a part of this, I have to say, which is like running for Homecoming King in your high school.
Evanston’s Jeff Schoenberg is running for the Senate’s top job.
SCHOENBERG: All the kidding aside, the stakes are very high because we need leadership that is more transparent and which also sets aside the conflicts of the past.
The Senate won’t officially pick a president until January. But the early frontrunners for the job include James Clayborne from East St. Louis and Chicago’s John Cullerton.
Illinois Senate Republicans will also be picking a new leader in the next few months. Minority Leader Frank Watson is stepping down from the post after suffering a stroke.