Update: Governor Blagojevich may no longer be the one selecting the next Illinois senator. He was arrested Tuesday morning on a wide range of corruption charges, including attempting to sell or trade Obama’s seat and conspiring to have several Chicago Tribune editorial writers fired for penning critical pieces. The governor’s last name is pronounced “bluh-GOY-uh-vich.”

Original Post: As The Hatchet reported in November, alumna Tammy Duckworth was on a short list to fill the Secretary of Veterans Affairs post in President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming administration.

Now that Obama has selected retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki to fill the post, several major news sources are reporting that Duckworth is being heavily considered to fill Obama’s Senate seat.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is granted the power to hand-pick Obama’s replacement by Illinois law, has said he will announce his choice before the end of the year. Other possibilities include Illinois Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. and Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones, according to recent reports.

Duckworth, a 1991 graduate of the Elliott School of International Affairs, is an Iraq war veteran who lost both of her legs when a helicopter she was piloting was attacked in 2004. She currently serves as the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. The New York Times wrote an interesting profile on her late last month — including her time for a marathon she completed this fall on a hand-cranked bicycle.

Professor Susan Wood was also mentioned (Hatchet article) as a contender for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Wood served as the assistant commissioner for women’s health and the director of the office of women’s health in the FDA before starting her career at the School of Public Health and Health Services. Obama has not announced his pick for commissioner of the FDA.