Obama to resign Senate seat

　　U.S. President-elect Barack Obama announced Thursday that he will officially resign his Senate seat as of Sunday.

　　"It has been one of the highest honors and privileges of my life to have served the people of Illinois in the United States Senate," he said in a statement released by his campaign Thursday.

　　"It is these Illinois families and their stories that will stay with me as I leave the United States Senate and begin the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and common dreams of all Americans as our nation's next president," Obama added.

　　Obama's Senate office will close sometime within the next two months.

　　His Senate staff will spend that time coordinating with his replacement, advising constituents with open requests, and archiving documents for Obama's presidential library.

　　Several Illinois Democrats, including Republican Jesse Jackson Jr. and Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, a former congressional candidate who now serves in governor Rod Blagojevich's administration, have been mentioned as possible Senate replacements for Obama.

　　Blagojevich, who will appoint Obama's successor, announced last week that he was assembling a panel to vet likely candidates.

　　Obama was elected U.S. Senate in 2004 and his replacement would be up for re-election in 2010.

　　美國當選總統奧巴馬１３日宣布，將于１５日辭去聯邦參議員一職，以專注于明年１月２０日就任總統前的政府交接工作。

　　奧巴馬當天發表聲明說，能夠進入國會參議院為伊利諾伊州人民服務是他“生命中的至高榮耀之一”，而在他離開參議院后，伊利諾伊州人民以及他們的故事將陪伴他開始另一項艱難的任務，即作為下屆美國總統實現“所有美國人的共同希望和夢想”。

　　奧巴馬在參議院的辦公室將在兩個月內關閉。在此期間，他在參議院的工作人員會負責協調與繼任者之間的交接工作，并整理奧巴馬擔任參議員期間的資料，將來供給奧巴馬總統圖書館。

　　奧巴馬在２００４年當選伊利諾伊州聯邦參議員，但在進入國會僅兩年后便開始籌備競選總統。

　　奧巴馬辭職后，他的國會席位繼任者將由伊利諾伊州州長布拉戈耶維奇決定。

　　當選副總統拜登上周也表示，會在１月２０日宣布就職時辭去特拉華州聯邦參議員一職。