SPRINGFIELD - A Chicago lawmaker with nearly 30 years of experience in the General Assembly is in line to become the next president of the Illinois Senate.

Democratic state Sen. John Cullerton emerged Wednesday as the pick of Democrats in the race to replace retiring Senate President Emil Jones. A formal vote on Cullerton's ascension to the key spot won't happen until mid-January.

On the Republican side, state Sen. Christine Radogno of Lemont was chosen as the next minority leader, replacing Frank Watson of Greenville , who is stepping down from the post after suffering a stroke in October.

Both positions are key legislative appointments. The duo now gets a chance to sit at the bargaining table with the governor and their counterparts from the House to craft the state budget and other high-profile statewide initiatives.

A vote of the 37 Democrats who control the majority in the Senate saw Cullerton best his closest rival, state Sen. James Clayborne of Belleville.

The vote was taken behind closed doors at a Springfield hotel.

Cullerton joined the General Assembly in 1979 as a member of the House, where he worked on issues like Chicago school reform. He moved to the Senate in 1991.

Radogno had been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for governor in 2010. She was vying for the post against state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale .

kurt.erickson@lee.net / 217-789-0865