* Congressman Jackson hopes to expand the family empire…

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is seeking the go-ahead from the Federal Election Commission to help write the final chapter in a high-profile family feud that has roiled Democratic politics in Chicago for years: the Jacksons vs. the Beaverses.

The Illinois Democrat wants the FEC to determine whether he can provide financial backing from his reelection committee to the campaign of his wife, Sandi, for 7th Ward committeeman of the Cook County Democratic Party. The post is currently held by William Beavers, whose daughter, Darcel, was crushed by Sandi Jackson last February in the race for 7th Ward alderman. […]

The seven-term lawmaker said he would be willing to give $100,000 or more to his wife’s party campaign if that’s what it would take to win.

* I’ve had the results of a poll in that committeeman’s race for a couple of weeks, but completely forgot about them. The survey of 382 respondents was conducted for Ms. Jackson in early October by Lester & Associates…

Suppose the democratic primary election for 7th Ward Committeeman held today and the candidates were William Beavers and Sandi Jackson — for whom would you vote?

Jackson 69
Lean Jackson 3
Beavers 16
Lean Beavers 1
(Don’t know / Not sure) 11

Total Jackson 72
Total Beavers 17

Generally speaking, would you say William Beavers deserves to re-elected as 7th Ward Committeeman or would you say it is time for someone new?

Reelect 17
Someone new 71
(Don’t Know / Not Sure) 12

Would you say you approve or disapprove of the job William Beavers is doing as 7th Ward Committeeman?

Approve 25
Disapprove 49
(Don’t Know / Not Sure) 26

The poll also found that Mayor Daley was viewed favorably by 73 percent of people in the ward, while Congressman Jackson was viewed favorably by 82 percent, Ald. Jackson was viewed favorably by 75 and Bill Beavers was viewed favorably by just 36 percent and 42 percent viewed him unfavorably. Download the poll here.

* Meanwhile, if you had any doubts that the DCCC was serious in its targeting of freshman Republican Peter Roskam, then check this out…

Congressman Peter Roskam is one of seven Republican Congressmen targeted in radio ads by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for his vote backing President Bush’s veto of an expansion of a children’s health insurance program.

The DCCC said it bought a week’s worth of radio ads on a syndicated traffic and weather report that runs on dozens of Chicago radio stations.

The ad says “Did you know Congressman Roskam gets health care at taxpayers’ expense, but Roskam and Bush are blocking health care for 10 million uninsured children? Tell Peter Roskam to put kids first,” according to the DCCC. […]

In a prepared statement, Roskam said he supports reauthorizing SCHIP, but is opposed to its expansion, which he claims will cover “countless adults and illegal immigrants at taxpayer expense.”

* As I’ve told you before, Jill Morgenthaler is the Democrats’ candidate to run against Roskam. Morgenthaler’s primary opponent isn’t exactly a serious contender. Otherwise, she might have to answer for this…

Morgenthaler said that she normally backs Democratic candidates, but according to state election records, she voted in Republican primaries in 2002 and 2005, and only began voting in the Democratic primary last year.

You can see her voting history here. I’ve had it for a few days, but got busy with other things. Her campaign said in response: “If you want someone who can and will work work for people of both political parties, Jill is your girl.”

* Morgenthaler is resigning tomorrow from her state post as homeland security director, which brings up this problem…

She will also have to distance herself from Blagojevich, who has taken a beating over questionable campaign contributions and allegations he dispensed no-bid contracts to benefactors. […]

“She’s going to try and run as an outsider, but there’s stuff that she’s going to be tagged with in the Blagojevich world that could trip her up, message-wise,” said one Illinois Democratic operative. “It’s certainly not fatal, but it’s a distraction.”

* And, of course, this…

Meanwhile, her involvement as a spokeswoman for the Army during Abu Ghraib drew controversy even before she announced her candidacy.