Special Election Gains Ground With Blago

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, under indictment for trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat, would likely now approve a bill authorizing a special election to fill the post, sources tell the Chicago Sun-Times. Blagojevich—who insiders now say has decided not to resign—wants the measure to apply to future such vacancies, taking the power out of the governor’s hands.

A bill circulating in Springfield would authorize an election in April or May to select the successors for both Obama and Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who’s been tapped as White House chief of staff. The governor—or whoever is filling the role, with various legal maneuvers pending—would have to appoint a temporary replacement for Obama in the interim, however. (More Rod Blagojevich stories.)