SPRINGFIELD - Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced he will seek another term in his current office in 2010, dismissing speculations he would seek to fill U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's position should Obama win the presidency.

"I believe that when you take on a job, you should take on the responsibility that goes with it," White said. "I also believe that if you are focused on the job that you have, then you should not become distracted by looking elsewhere."

White spoke with reporters in his Springfield office Wednesday after an award ceremony for the winners of his annual organ and tissue donor poster contest.

White said he does not wish to be remembered like other modern-day secretaries of state, many of whom have used the office as a stop on the way to higher office. In recent memory, former governors George Ryan and Jim Edgar both held the position of secretary of state prior to becoming governor.

"When I came on board in 1998, I indicated that I was going to run for this office and this office only," White said. "I want to go down in history as being the best secretary of state of Illinois."

Most recently, White defeated state Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, in the 2006 election. Rutherford said he wants to run for a major statewide office again in 2010, but hasn't committed to which one.

White also said he would not support lowering the drinking age, an issue currently being debated in several states, including Missouri and Wisconsin.

White said fatalities among young drivers are already disproportionately high.

"I could not support (lowering the drinking age) because I want to keep the roads of Illinois as safe as ever," White said. "The greatest cause of loss of life for our young drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 is automobile crashes. I think if you lower the (drinking) age, those numbers will come off the chart."