State Sen. Alice Palmer, a respected South Side lawmaker, concluded an embarrassing fall and early winter Wednesday by withdrawing her re-election bid.

Palmer's troubles started Nov. 28, when she placed a distant third to Jesse Jackson Jr. in the Democratic primary to fill the year left on former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds' term in the 2nd Congressional District.

[Barack] Obama didn't much appreciate Palmer's move, and a volunteer in his campaign challenged hundreds of the 1,580 signatures that Palmer