By The Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO – Letters and an online petition seemed at first like a fine way to get Jack Benny – the comic who always claimed to be 39 years old – on a 39-cent stamp. But the woman trying to push one of Waukegan, Ill.’s most famous sons into the upper-right corner of U.S. mail is changing tactics, turning instead to political muscle.

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., whose district includes Waukegan, said he is already on board and plans to lobby the U.S. Postal Service.

Last Tuesday, which would have been Benny’s 112th birthday, Laura Leff, president of the International Jack Benny Fan Club, also lobbied the offices of Illinois Sens. Barack Obama and Dick Durbin after leading a “39 Man March” – of about 10 people – from the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol. She’s already talking like a savvy political pro.

“We’re hoping for positive and broad bipartisan support,” said Leff, 36, who founded the fan club when she was 10. “One thing that’s clear is you definitely need political connections.”

Despite a letter-writing campaign at Jack Benny Middle School and an online petition that has attracted 3,200 names, Leff said people who have landed celebrities on stamps told her that success comes not from grass-roots efforts but having influence on your side.

Leff can use all the help she can get. Among several hurdles, the largest appears to be Benny’s presence on a 29-cent stamp in the early 1990s as part of a series honoring comedians. Postal Service rules say a person can be honored with a stamp every 50 years.

Also, Leff is trying to get him on the stamp before the rates change – a likely window of no more than a few years. Stamp images for 2006 have already been announced, and 2007 images have been chosen but not yet approved by the postmaster general, postal spokeswoman Frances Frazier said.

“Not to say he won’t be considered in the future, but they’re already working on the 2008-09 program,” Frazier said.

Kirk, who did not attend the 39 Man March, said he would write a letter to the Citizens’ Advisory Stamp Commission, possibly suggesting that they honor Benny in another series of stamps for comedians. Kirk said he is joining the effort because Benny reflects “the spirit of our area.”

“He had a very self-effacing manner that fits the Midwest,” he said.

Leff said she is hoping for a resolution in the House of Representatives in support of the stamp, but Kirk said that is unlikely.

“If it increases the chances of it happening, I’ll do it. But what I’m told is the letter is a better way,” he said. “Getting them to work with your idea is a lot easier than getting an act of Congress.”

Frazier said the political alliances are unlikely to sway the stamp advisory panel, which recommends to the postmaster general approximately 25 of the 50,000 suggestions that come in every year.

“They would not print a new stamp just because someone (of power) says they wanted it,” Frazier said. “I would definitely say they make their choice based solely on what they believe is the best stamp for that year.”

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(c) 2006, Chicago Tribune.

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Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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PHOTO (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): JACKBENNYSTAMP

AP-NY-02-19-06 0558EST

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