Solis Doyle, others consider White House posts

Hillary Clinton's former campaign manager may be heading for the White House.

But it would be as part of President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

Patti Solis Doyle is just one of Chicago's heavy hitters who may be up for jobs in the new administration.

Solis Doyle worked at the Clinton White House and then as Hillary's campaign manager until she was unceremoniously dumped in February after a series of embarrassing losses to Barack Obama in early Democratic primary and caucus states. But she had close ties to some of Obama's top advisors so she was hired by his campaign over the summer.

Now she is weighing an offer to go back to the White House as the top liaison to the cabinet secretaries, according to her brother, Chicago alderman Danny Solis.

"I think she's very honored that the president would think of her. This is history. And this is a great new president that's about to take office. And I think there's a special sense of responsibility and obligation and honor," said Ald. Solis.

Patti Solis Doyle will have a lot of Chicago friends at the White House if, as expected, she takes the liaison job.

Businesswoman Valerie Jarrett, one of President-elect Barack Obama's closest friends and advisors, has decided to accept a high-level advisory position. So she is taking herself off the list of candidates for Obama's senate seat.

Jarrett will be joined at the White House by Chicago media consultant and top Obama strategist David Axelrod; Chicago Public Schools C.E.O. Arne Duncan, on the short list for education secretary; banker Bill Daley, the mayor's brother, who may join the administration if he decides not to run for Governor of Illinois; and State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, also a White House possibility if he's willing to give up on state government for at least a few years.

"There's a strong sense of pride among all Chicagoans, including myself, that first of all, we have a president from here and then second of all, that we're going to have some very strong and key people in positions of influence in this White House," said Ald. Solis.

The name of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has been mentioned as a possible candidate for attorney general in the Obama administration. But a source close to the president-elect tells ABC7 that Fitzgerald is more likely to stay on in his current job even if Obama replaces U.S. Attorneys in most of the other cities.

As for the Obama senate seat that Valerie Jarrett doesn't want, Gov. Rod Blagojevich gets to fill the position. And on Wednesday Chicago Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. is pointing to a new poll that puts him at the top of the list of possible replacements, ahead of Tammy Duckworth, the governor's director of Veterans Affairs.

Blagojevich is also said to be considering an unlikely choice, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, daughter of his Springfield rival, House speaker Michael Madigan. If the governor picks Madigan, she is out of the running for his job in 2010. And Mike is one happy dad.

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