Convention a boost for Cheryle Jackson Senate bid?
URBAN LEAGUE | Cheryle Jackson 'a very impressive candidate'
Three years ago, when she conceived the idea of holding the Urban League's national conference in Chicago this year, it's unlikely Cheryle Jackson realized she'd be poised to run for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Barack Obama.
But the timing could not be better to showcase the work she has done for the last three years as president of Chicago's Urban League chapter when the convention kicks off here Tuesday.
(Keith Hale/Sun-Times)
Chris Kennedy, who manages the Merchandise Mart and is a son of former U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), is considering a run for Senate or governor.
City of Chicago Treasurer Stephanie Neely, a close ally of Mayor Daley, has not discouraged those floating her name for the Senate post.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and current Sen. Roland Burris have taken themselves out of the running.
On the other side of the aisle, most of the state's senior Republicans have declared their support for U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, of Kenilworth.
Her supporters for the 2010 race would prefer to keep the focus on those years and her time as an Amtrak vice president -- rather than on the three years she served as communications director for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who has since been indicted for alleged corruption in office.
If she runs, she is expected to argue that she joined Blagojevich's administration when it looked promising and able to deliver on progressive issues -- but that she left before his first term ended as controversies began to bubble to the surface.
In fact, under Jackson, the Urban League went so far as to file a lawsuit against the state -- while Blagojevich was still governor -- that argued that Illinois' school funding system violates the civil rights of minority students by giving them an inferior education to those of children in wealthier areas. The suit is pending in Cook County Circuit Court.
Even though her name is in the mix, Jackson did not want to talk about her Senate aspirations in an interview. She instead focused on the convention's lineup of big-name speakers: Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Magic Johnson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
The timing for the conference theme, economic empowerment, was also good.
"We didn't know it would be in the middle of the economic meltdown" when the Urban League bid for the national convention in 2007, she said.
The conference will offer "solutions [and] tools to help people traverse these economic challenges we're facing today," Jackson said.
Even as Jackson tries to keep the focus on the convention, she has reportedly been organizing a campaign for U.S. Senate and has traveled to Washington to line up support.
"We met with her, and we're continuing to talk with her," said Jonathan Parker, political director of EMILY's List, a group that raises funds for candidates who are Democratic, women and abortion-rights supporters.
"We think she's a very impressive candidate -- in terms of her resume and her dynamic personality -- and we're excited to be working with her as she puts this together," Parker said.
The group has not made an endorsement yet in the race, he said.
Jackson, 44 is a graduate of Northwestern University who studied Latin in high school in Memphis and art theory and practice in college. She worked for National Public Radio before taking a job with Amtrak. As president of Chicago's chapter of the Urban League, Jackson oversees a $10 million budget and 80 employees.