CHICAGO , Illinois ( CNN ) -- President-elect Barack Obama said `` a very affectionate thanks '' to the people of Illinois in a letter published Sunday in the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers across his home state . Obama announced on Thursday that his resignation from the U.S. Senate is official as of Sunday . `` Today , I am ending one journey to begin another , '' Obama 's letter said . `` 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 . '' Obama wrote about moving to Illinois two decades ago `` 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 was n'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 , '' he wrote . Obama followed his years as a community organizer and lawyer with a successful bid for the Illinois state Senate . `` It was in Springfield , in the heartland of America , where I saw all that is America converge -- farmers and teachers , businessmen and laborers , all of them with a story to tell , all of them seeking a seat at the table , all of them clamoring to be heard . It was there that I learned to disagree without being disagreeable ; to seek compromise while holding fast to those principles that can never be compromised , and to always assume the best in people instead of the worst , '' his letter said . His letter recalled people he met in his travels around the state during his run for the U.S. Senate four years ago . `` I still remember the young woman in East St. Louis who had the grades , the drive and the will but not the money to go to college . I remember the young men and women I met at VFW halls across the state who serve our nation bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan . And I will never forget the workers in Galesburg who faced the closing of a plant they had given their lives to , who wondered how they would provide health care to their sick children with no job and little savings , '' he wrote . Obama said his memories of the people of Illinois `` will stay with me when I go to the White House in January . '' `` The challenges we face as a nation are now more numerous and difficult than when I first arrived in Chicago , but I have no doubt that we can meet them . For throughout my years in Illinois , I have heard hope as often as I have heard heartache . Where I have seen struggle , I have seen great strength . And in a state as broad and diverse in background and belief as any in our nation , I have found a spirit of unity and purpose that can steer us through the most troubled waters , '' he wrote . Obama then quoted Abraham Lincoln -- `` another son of Illinois '' who left for Washington . `` To this place , and the kindness of these people , I owe everything , '' he quoted Lincoln as writing about Illinois . `` Today , I feel the same , and like Lincoln , I ask for your support , your prayers , and for us to 'confidently hope that all will yet be well , ' '' Obama wrote . His letter concluded : . `` With your help , along with the service and sacrifice of Americans across the nation who are hungry for change and ready to bring it about , I have faith that all will in fact be well . And it is with that faith , and the high hopes I have for the enduring power of the American idea , that I offer the people of my beloved home a very affectionate thanks . '' Obama 's Senate office will close sometime within 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 Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth , a former congressional candidate who now serves in Gov . Rod Blagojevich 's administration , have been mentioned as possible Senate replacements for Obama . Blagojevich , a Democrat who will appoint Obama 's successor , announced last week that he was assembling a panel to look over likely candidates . Obama 's replacement would be up for re-election in 2010 . Vice president-elect Joe Biden , who was also re-elected in Delaware to his Senate seat on November 4 , told an interviewer several weeks ago that he would resign when he 's sworn in as vice president in January .
President - elect Barack Obama thanks Illinois Senator as he returns from office . In letter , Obama recalled back to Illinois , people he met during his U.S. Senate run . Jesse Jackson Jr. , Tammy Baldwin among names named to fill vacant seats .