DRUG EXPERT TO GET GOP SENATE LOOK

ILLINOIS -- Dr. Andrea Grubb Barthwell resigned Friday as a deputy
director in the Office of National Drug Control Policy, clearing the
way for her to speak with leading Illinois Republicans about her
interest in replacing Jack Ryan as the GOP's nominee for the U.S. Senate.

If chosen by the state's Republican leadership, Barthwell's candidacy
against Democratic nominee Barack Obama would create a historic
matchup between two African Americans seeking to become the third
black elected to the Senate since Reconstruction.

Barthwell is a River Forest expert on drug dependency. By law,
Barthwell had been prohibited from discussing a potential candidacy
for office while a federal worker.