Rep. Jackson is our choice to be senator

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is our choice to be the next U.S. senator from Illinois.

Though Gov. Blagojevich, who must pick a replacement in the Senate for President-elect Barack Obama, finds himself with no shortage of qualified candidates, we believe Jackson has earned the job and would serve our state -- our entire state -- well.

And if Jackson does not, he'll get bounced soon enough. Once appointed, he would have to stand for election statewide in less than two years, where his famous name would be as much a burden as a blessing.

We believe Jackson, 43, has the drive, the passion and the experience. In his 13 years in Congress, he has distinguished himself as a thoughtful, committed legislator who fights for what he thinks is right.

Jackson took the lead in the push for a third Chicago area airport -- in Will County, close to his South Side and south suburban district -- and has refused to give up. That has put him at odds with Mayor Daley, a man he would be smart to befriend, but we admire his commitment on this issue, as well as his daily determination to bring economic development to his depressed district.

Jackson has looked after his constituents well, bringing home about $600 million in federal grants and appropriations for projects such as fresh drinking water in Ford Heights, a community long stuck with rust-colored, foul-smelling water. He has led efforts to redevelop the former US Steel South Works site on the South Side.

Jackson also has proven himself on the national stage, serving on the House Appropriations Committee and as Obama's national campaign co-chairman. He has pushed for universal health care and, in 2001, was the point man on legislation that created a center on minority health and health disparities at the National Institutes of Health.

Above all, we believe, Jackson shares the values and goals of the president-elect, a consideration of no small importance to us in making this endorsement. The voters of Illinois chose Obama twice -- first for the Senate and then for president -- and they deserve a replacement who fully shares the president-elect's agenda.

Jackson at times reminds us more of the consensus-inclined Obama, seeking to rise above race and factionalism, than his honorable but more divisive father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The son has even called out the father when he felt it necessary. Back in July, when the Rev. Jackson was caught whispering a rather ungentlemanly comment about Obama -- something, as we recall, about snipping Obama's manhood -- Rep. Jackson played it straight, saying he was "outraged and disappointed'' by his father's "reckless" mutterings.

This newspaper has respect for both Jesse Jacksons -- the son and the father -- and in the son we see many of the father's finest qualities, in particular a passion for championing the poor, the oppressed and the powerless.

But in Rep. Jackson, we also see somebody who is his own man.

We cannot conclude this editorial without mentioning one other superbly qualified candidate for the job, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. She is an independent and highly effective leader and would make a terrific senator.

But we doubt Blagojevich would offer her the appointment, given that she is the daughter of his Springfield nemesis, House Speaker Mike Madigan. And we doubt Lisa Madigan would accept the appointment, given her obvious interest in running for governor in 2010.

More to the point, we are fully enthusiastic about the prospect of a Sen. Jesse Jackson Jr. -- oh, how far we have come -- and we urge the governor to make it happen.