Chicago Major Richard Daley is not running for re-election marking an end to another era of Chicago politics.
Between them, Daley and his father (the original Mayor Daley) have governed the city for about 43 of the last 55 years.
There is no question that the Democrats will hold the seat, only who will be picked by Daley to take over.
There also remains speculation that since WH Chief of Staff Emmanuel has expressed interest in running for Mayor that Daley may have been offered some nice Cabinet post or Ambassadorial posting in trade for retiring.
Of course that implies that Chicago politics is semi-corrupt
We shall see what happens