Dispatch From IL

ADDISION, IL -- Tammy Duckworth's election night headquarters are, aptly, in a VFW in Addison, IL, and given Duckworth's unusual background the crowd is a curious admixture of political star power and military fire power: Sen. Dick Durbin is working the local media which is out in force; at the same time a veritable platoon of Blackhawk helicopter pilots, crew members, and spouses, who serve with Duckworth (who is still an active member of the Illinois National Guard, contrary to many media stories, which have erroneously reported that she's "retired") is working the buffet table.[JOSHUA GREEN]

Though polls have been closed for two hours--and thank God for that, since the local climate now rivals the ice planet of Hoth--there is little to be had in terms of predictions, besides a Blackhawk crew member's earlier forecast, impressively spot on, that the evening promised "a 90 percent chance of beer."

It has become increasingly clear that a long night is ahead. In addition to the introduction of new, and complicated, voting technology in Cook County, which comprises just over 20 percent of IL-06, DuPage County, which makes up the rest, has new, time-consuming voting procedures of it's own. Unlike in past years, Duckworth staffers explained, results from DuPage will not be released to campaigns and media until they have been certified by a judge.

One bit of anecdotal reporting from Cook County, however, may bode well for Duckworth, though it's admittedly a bit of a bank shot. The big story in Chicago this week is that longtime president of the Cook County Board of Commisioners, John Stroger, suffered a serious stroke, too late to be replaced on the ballot. This has provided an opening for his Democratic primary challenger, Forrest Claypool. In fact, Stroger, a classic and none-too-beloved machine pol, is so unpopular among Republicans that--again, anecdotally--it's said that a number of Cook County Republicans have asked for Democratic ballots to vote for Claypool and ensure that Stroger doesn't come back. And the bankshot for Duckworth: Republicans love vets.