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 after suffering a stroke in October.

Both positions are key legislative offices. The two now get 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.

Cullerton, 60, said the fight to replace Jones has not been a fractious battle.

"We're all pretty good friends," Cullerton said before 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 such as Chicago school reform. He moved to the Senate in 1991.

Cullerton's top legislative accomplishments include the state's seat belt laws and death penalty reforms, which he helped craft with Barack Obama when the president-elect was a state senator.

Radogno, 55, has been in the Senate since 1997. She made an unsuccessful bid for state treasurer in 2006 and has served as a Republican spokeswoman on budget issues. She will move up from deputy minority leader.

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|789-0865