After President-elect Barack Obama tapped Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel to be his chief of staff, a long list is emerging of possible Democratic candidates for the special election to succeed him in the 5th District.

Emanuel made his resignation from the House official on Jan. 2. Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich announced Jan. 5 a short timeline for the special election to replace the three-term lawmaker in the Cook County district that takes in a swath of Chicago’s North Side along with some suburbs.

The primary will be held March 3 and the general election is slated for April 7. Democrats seeking the seat must file at least 927 valid petition signatures with the state Board of Elections in Springfield during a period that begins Jan. 12 and ends Jan. 19.

One immediate response to the developments came from state Rep. John Fritchey, viewed as a possibly strong primary contender. Fritchey had been wavering for several months about seeking the seek but announced his intentions Jan. 5 — on his Facebook page.

Fritchey is a member of the state House panel that is considering whether to level articles of impeachment against Blagojevich, the two-term governor who was arrested in early December on federal corruption charges. Blagojevich, who preceded Emanuel in the 5th District seat, first won in 1996 and held it for three terms until his 2002 election as governor.

It is possible that the tight turnaround schedule for the special election will cull the field by the time the filing period ends. Paul Green, a longtime commentator on local politics and a professor of public policy at Chicago’s Roosevelt University, said that even though more than a dozen individuals have expressed interest in the contest, “We don’t know who’s running yet. We’ll see who’s really serious next week  . . .  Until then, it’s ‘Noisy squawks ‘til money talks.’ ”

Echoing that sentiment was Margaret Laurino, the alderman for Chicago’s 39th Ward. Laurino, who decided not to seek the seat, said she is holding off commenting on the contenders until next week.

“I’m just going to wait to see who files before I believe someone is or is not in the race,” she said. “Getting signatures, getting the forms printed, filing them in Springfield  . . .  that says to me ‘You’re in the race.’ ”

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A “first tier” set of candidates already is evolving among the early entrants.

Among them is state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, a champion of revising the health care system, who was a legislative ally of Obama’s during his tenure in the state Senate. She showed early fundraising clout by bringing in close to $300,000 as of Dec. 31.

Feigenholtz said she is not overly worried about the competition — on both the fundraising and health care policy fronts — that she is drawing from Victor Forys, a physician and political newcomer who reports having raised close to $160,000.

“I’m sure he’s a fabulous doctor, but I’m not sure he understands what it means to be in office,” she said. “I question his ability, with no experience in the public sector and political process, to be an impact player as quickly as someone like me, who’s been around for a long time.”