Kwame Raoul: I will ramp up bid for Illinois Attorney General -- if Lisa Madigan is out

State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) — the man who replaced Barack Obama in the state senate — tells the Chicago Sun-Times today he has his eye on the Illinois Attorney General post should Lisa Madigan make a move for governor. And once the session is over, he will ramp up fund-raising.

Raoul, citing the Sunday report in the paper that he, like many in state politicians, are waiting to see what Lisa Madigan will do. If she does indeed run for governor, it would set off a chain reaction with various office holders hoping to make a move up the ladder.

“If it were to become vacant as a result of Lisa Madigan electing to do something else, it would have to be something that I look at,” said Raoul, a lawyer and former state prosecutor with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. “The attorney general’s office … is an advocacy office and it’s the state’s main attorney. So my legal perspective, my broad legal experience is important … I like that aspect of it. I think that’s what I’ve done well in my role as a state legislator.”

Raoul, an advocate for same sex marriage and a ban on the death penalty, was originally appointed to the state senate in Nov. 2004 – when Barack Obama was elected to U.S. Senate.

He says he is fully engrossed in the legislative session, including being put in charge of negotiating gun safety legislation in his chamber.

When session is out, he plans to beef up fund-raising for statewide office.

“I’m going to turn my attention to that as we conclude our legislative session. Fund-raising is the arduous but necessary task you have to tackle, when considering running for any office,” Raoul said.

Other possible contenders for the seat are Illinois Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.