Madigan's decision to seek 3rd term leaves statewide races open
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s decision not to run for governor or the U.S. Senate turned the 2010 election in Illinois on its head.
And what her decision means for Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks’ hopes for statewide office has yet to be seen.
Madigan, 42, stunned Illinois politicians and political observers Wednesday when she announced that she would seek a third term as attorney general. She said at a news conference that she loved her present position, and that she wanted to spend more time with her two young daughters.
Many believed that she was being groomed by her father, longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan, to run for governor. Likewise, she was being courted to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Roland Burris, who is tainted by his appointment by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Madigan would have been a very strong contender for either office, said Kathleen Bergan Schmidt, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of McHenry County. Schmidt said that Madigan’s decision strengthens Gov. Pat Quinn’s chances of winning the primary.
“It would seem that Quinn has the stronger advantage now,” Bergan Schmidt said. “I think what’s going to make a difference in 2010 is what they do in the next month or two on the budget.”
Quinn, who inherited the job in January after Blagojevich’s impeachment and removal, likely will face a stiff primary challenge, given the ongoing budget impasse and his desire for a 50 percent income tax hike. Franks, Comptroller Daniel Hynes and state Rep. Julie Hamos, D-Evanston, have publicly mulled 2010 runs for statewide office.
Attempts Wednesday to reach Franks were unsuccessful. He has represented the 63rd House District, which includes all but the southeast corner of McHenry County, since 1999.
Franks, who was among Blagojevich’s earliest and loudest critics, saw his political fortunes brighten with the former governor’s Dec. 9, 2008, arrest on federal corruption charges.
He had told the Northwest Herald in a Dec. 14 interview that he was “working on possibilities” regarding a run for statewide office. Franks had been pondering a run prior to that but wanted to wait and see the outcome of the November election, he had told the newspaper in June 2008.
State Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake, said Madigan would have faced a tough race for governor had she won the primary. Tryon, who also is McHenry County Republican Party chairman, said voters would have had a hard time allowing a father-daughter relationship in the General Assembly.
“I think Illinoisians are sick of Democrats’ family control of state government, be it the [Emil] Joneses or the Daleys or the Madigans,” Tryon said. “The state deserves better than family legacies.”
On the GOP side, state Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, announced his candidacy for governor Wednesday. He said he was glad that he would not have to face Madigan in a general election, and that his chances “are much better at Pat Quinn or someone else.” The Republican gubernatorial field includes two other state senators, the DuPage County Board chairman, and a Chicago radio host.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett, who Madigan beat for attorney general in 2002, is making another run for the office. He ran as lieutenant governor on the Republican ticket with Judy Baar Topinka in 2006, losing to Blagojevich and Quinn.