We are coming up on another election – as the forty members of the Illinois Senate Democratic caucus must choose a new president Jan. 19.

University of Illinois Springfield political science professor Kent Redfield sees Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood) (pictured) as the front-runner to succeed the retiring John Cullerton (D-Chicago).

“My guess is that Sen. Lightford needs to reassure people that she can lead, that she has a unifying agenda, that he can raise money part of it,” says Redfield. “Part of it will be perceptions, and for the new progressive, forward-looking Democratic Party, then a minority woman is probably a better symbol than an older white guy.”

Such as Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park). The other contender, Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago), is a black man.