Obama has resigned from the Senate, effective Sunday.

(CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama wrote a letter to Illinois residents published in the state's newspapers Sunday, the day his resignation from the Senate became official.

Full text of the letter:

Today, I am ending one journey to begin another. After serving the people of Illinois in the United States Senate — one of the highest honors and privileges of my life — I am stepping down as senator to prepare for the responsibilities I will assume as our nation’s next president. But I will never forget, and will forever be grateful, to the men and women of this great state who made my life in public service possible.

More than two decades ago, I arrived in Illinois as a young man eager to do my part in building a better America. On the South Side of Chicago, I worked with families who had lost jobs and lost hope when the local steel plant closed. It wasn’t easy, but we slowly rebuilt those neighborhoods one block at a time, and in the process I received the best education I ever had. It’s an education that led me to organize a voter registration project in Chicago, stand up for the rights of Illinois families as an attorney and eventually run for the Illinois state Senate.

Read the rest of this entry »

(CNN) – CNN projects that Democratic incumbent Dick Durbin will defeat Republican Steve Sauerberg for the Senate race in Illinois.

CNN projections are based on exit poll data from key areas.

CNN's voter hotline has received call from voters who are still waiting to receive their absentee ballots.

(CNN) – With Election Day approaching fast, many voters have called into CNN’s voter hotline to report that they are still awaiting absentee ballots.

CNN got in touch with some of the counties where those calls originated, and has some guidance for voters in those areas.

The deadline for returning absentee ballots in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania has passed, according to information available on the Philadelphia County Board of Elections Web site. Bill Rubin, the Supervisor of Elections for Philadelphia County in Pennsylvania, told CNN the best thing for voters registered in the county to do at this point is to go to the polls in person and vote on Election Day.

Voters waiting on absentee ballots from Palm Beach County, Florida should call Bob Bartelsmeyer, the county’s absentee ballot coordinator, at 561-656-6234. Click here for more about voting by absentee ballots in Palm Beach County.

If you are still waiting on an absentee ballot and you are registered in the City of Chicago, Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, recommends calling the city’s absentee ballot department at 312-269-7967. For more information on absentee voting in the City of Chicago, click here.

If you are registered in suburban Cook County in Illinois and have not received an absentee ballot, Courtney Greve, spokeswoman for the Cook County Clerk, advises calling the clerk’s absentee ballot line at 312-603-0944. For more information about voting absentee if you’re registered in suburban Cook County, click here.

Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters, recommends that voters still waiting on absentee ballots check the status of their ballot request on search engine available at www.lavote.net. Logan also told CNN that early voting is available at the L.A. County Registrar’s Headquarters in Norwalk, California through Monday evening. Click here to read an October 28 press release about early voting in L.A. County. Absentee ballots that have already been received may be returned in person to the headquarters by the time polls close on Election Day or to any polling place on Election Day as well. Click here to read an October 31 press release/update about early voting and voting by mail in L.A. County.

For information on early voting in other jurisdictions, click here for a list of links.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

The CNN Election Express is heading across the country.

ABOARD THE CNN ELECTION EXPRESS IN ILLINOIS (CNN) — We’re heading west, making our way through what can safely be considered Obama Country.

The Democrat’s presumptive presidential nominee also has a day job, and that’s Senator from Illinois. Before that Barack Obama was a longtime state lawmaker here, and prior to that he was a community organizer in Chicago.

We’ve been driving through a number of crucial battleground states on our way from DC to Denver, site of the Democratic National Convention, but this isn’t one of them. Vice President Al Gore won Illinois by double digits in 2000, Senator John Kerry took the state by double digits four years ago, and Obama’s expected to easily win his home state this time around.

While there’s not that much electoral drama in Illinois, it’s a different story in the two states we just passed through. Indiana’s a traditional red state that Obama would like to turn blue. And Michigan’s a state that's gone for the Democrats in the past two presidential elections, but John McCain would like to turn it red.

Read the rest of this entry »

To track the Illinois primary results county-by-county, click here: Illinois

To track the Illinois primary results county-by-county, click here: Illinois