* After checking around a lot yesterday, I don’t think Lisa Madigan demanded these pledges from the president…

I reported on Wednesday that Madigan had two conditions she wanted if she ran for the Senate: an immediate Obama endorsement and for the Democratic primary field to be cleared. Madigan political director Mary Morrissey told me Thursday Madigan and no one in her camp set down any conditions.

* Also after checking around, I think Sheriff Dart is leaning very hard towards a run for Cook County Board President, how that Forrest Claypool has dropped out. The rest, I dunno yet…

Names potentially in contention now include Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who, according to a source close to the sheriff, is “very, very interested and seriously considering it.”

County Assessor James Houlihan said Thursday that he was currently “re-evaluating his options.” And county Commissioner Larry Suffredin is forming an exploratory committee for the job. Already declared is the candidacy of Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), and Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown has already commissioned polls.

More…

Another source says there was an “understanding” that if Claypool didn’t run against Stroger, Dart would.

* Notes from the circular firing squad. Doug Ibendahl tries to turn up the heat on SB600, which requires the Illinois Republican Party to elect its committeepersons…

An in-party fight among Illinois Republicans that has been percolating quietly out of sight of most voters is starting to bubble to the surface, helped along by a GOP activist who [yesterday] compared his state party’s chairman — unfavorably — to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. […]

One of the leaders of the GOP rebellion is Chicago attorney and former state GOP general counsel Doug Ibendahl, co-founder of “Republican Young Professionals,” which is among the most rebellious elements of the party. Ibendahl today emailed reporters with a link to an essay he wrote comparing GOP state party Chairman Andy McKenna to the Iranian president — who, of course, is currently being accused by demonstrators in Iran of stealing that country’s recent election.

“What do Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Andy McKenna have in common?” asks Ibendahl’s essay. “Answer: Both have constituents who want their vote back.” Ibendahl goes on to suggest that McKenna is “dividing and destroying our party on the idea that Republicans should have lesser voting rights than even the Iranians enjoy.”

“Good grief, at least they had an election their voters can demonstrate about,” writes Ibendahl.

* Related…

* Can Illinois Republicans Take Advantage of Obama’s Mistake?

* After Madigan’s White House Meeting, AG Knocked by Giannoulias

* Giannoulias: Madigan Senate bid is `insider’ clout move

* Obama, Lisa Madigan Discuss Senate Seat

* Robert Zadek of Rockford to run for U.S. Senate

* Claypool drops out of board president race

* Claypool won’t run, but Dart, Suffredin might

* Claypool’s Announcement Stirs Up County Race

* Congressional Tweeters