Jason Rosenbaum at The Seminal:

Last night at the Midwest Academy Awards and 35th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, DC, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown introduced Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky by saying, “We may have a special election in Illinois, and if Jan Schakowsky runs, I’ll support her.”

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.

There's no guarantee that there will be a special election to fill Barack Obama's seat in the Senate, although it is one of the options being floated by Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. If it does take place, the GOP will likely run Rep. Mark Kirk and given their penchant for smearing their opponents unfairly, it may be a difficult battle for Schakowsky, a favorite in the progressive blogosphere.