Possible successors. Election officials, in a bid to save money, are thought to be pushing for a special primary election on Feb. 26 and the general on April 9, the same days local Illinois elections are scheduled. The Chicago Tribune's Katherine Skiba and Rick Pearson list "two political discards" as potential candidates, former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger and Mel Reynolds, Jackson's immediate predecessor in Congress who resigned in 1995 following his convictions on having sex with a minor (more about Reynolds below). Also mentioned are Halvorson, state Sens. Toi Hutchinson & Donne Trotter, newly elected state senator (and former NFL player) Napoleon Harris, Chicago Aldermen Anthony Beale & Will Burns, former state Reps. David Mille & Robin Kelly, and Blagojevich's one-time attorney Sam Adam Jr. The Chicago Sun-Times' Natasha Korecki says that Adam is "unlikely" to run and adds Kurt Summers, chief of staff to Cook County Board Commissioner Toni Preckwinkle, to the list. The New York Times' Monica Davey mentioned Jackson's wife, Sandi Jackson, a Chicago alderman, or perhaps his brother, Jonathan Jackson. All are Democrats.