He had help from bigger people than that.
I’m not disputing that, but once he got hold of the Chicago thug machine, he was able to tap into larger Illinois politics (getting himself “elected” to the State Legislature), and then the DNC, which put him front and center as keynote speaker at the 2004 Rat convention, thus naming him as Kerry’s most likely successor (as either president or candidate). Through crook and hook, he won his U.S. Senate seat in 2006, and instead of going to work for his constituents, he hit the 2008 campaign trail.