I’m not the first person to note this, nor will I be the last.

I keep going over the latest names added to the speaker lineup at the DNC in Denver next week, and I have yet to see the name of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

It’s no suprise that a number of folks from Sen. Barack Obama’s home state will be featured at the convention. State Rep. Jay Hoffman, a Collinsville Democrat, in a recent interview, told me simply that Illinois officials know Obama best.

That’s why we’ll hear Monday from U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.,; Tom Balanoff, prez of the Illinois SEIU; Illinois AG Lisa Madigan; Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes; Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias; and Chicago City Clerk Miguel del Valle among others. Wednesday night Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is also on tap.

But nowhere in the list of officials from around the country — including a dozen current and former governors — is the name of the governor of Obama’s own state. Blagojevich, whose name several years ago (shortly after he was elected) was mentioned as a presidential contender in some circles, is simply not on the ticket.

Now, maybe it’s not shocking — Blagojevich has been a lightning rod in his own party and various parts of his administration are caught up in federal corruption investigations — but it would certainly seem significant.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that neither Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan nor Senate President Emil Jones(an Obama political mentor) are scheduled at this time to speak. Madigan, Jones and Blagojevich belong on just about any list of the three most politically powerful men in the fifth largest state in the union.

Of course, all three are also at the center of the legislative struggle that has gripped Springfield for years. Does that make them just too hot to touch in Denver?