Rep. Collins Named To Replace Hendon In State Senate
CHICAGO (CBS/WBBM) -- A state representative from the West Side will be sworn in tomorrow to replace State Sen. Rickey Hendon, who resigned last month.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Steve Miller reports, 13 people showed up Monday on the West Side, where Democratic committeemen were holding court, all hoping to be appointed to Hendon's seat.
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One of them was Scott Lee Cohen, the former Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor and Independent candidate for governor. Cohen didn't make it to the second round for state senate.
"They consider me, I would say, a rogue, because I am not owned by the Democratic party," Cohen said.
Instead, state Rep. Annazette Collins was selected. She said she never thought she was a shoo-in.
"I certainly did not know; there was a lot of people who were on different sides," Collins said.
The chairman of the selection committee, Illinois Secretary of State and 27th Ward Democratic committeeman Jesse White, said the fix was not in when reports suggested Collins had the seat from the get-go.
Hendon, who had been the state Senate Assistant Majority Leader, resigned last month. Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) said at the time that Hendon was disappointed that his ally, Patricia Horton, did not win the race for city Clerk, and that he was done with politics altogether.
