Results tagged “governor”

There were a pair of debates last night of interest to voters with the approaching primaries in February. Of particular interest to local voters is the The Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) Cook County Board President forum. ABC 7 has video of the complete forum that you can check out here. The participants were current Democrat candidates Pres. Todd Stroger, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, and MWRD Pres. Terrence O'Brien, Green Party candidate (and former No Games Chicago leader) Tom Tresser, and only one Republican candidate, John Garrido.

2010 is a big election year and state Republicans are hoping to take back, among other offices, the governor's seat. But first they've got to get through the primary and with seven candidates in a heated campaign, the race to see who will oppose Quinn or Hynes in 2010 could be pretty interesting. The debate happens tonight at the downtown Hilton (720 S. Michigan Ave) and Chris Robling will moderate. You can purchase tickets here, find a viewing party, or wait for WLS 890 AM to rebroadcast the entire debate tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

The field to garner the GOP nomination for next year's gubernatorial election is getting a bit more crowded as former candidate Jim Ryan is entering the contest. Ryan, who lost to former governor Rod Blagojevich in the state's 2002 general election, has spent the last several years out of public office and teaching at Benedictine University in Lisle. But as WBBM-AM explains, Ryan, a former state's attorney general, may face a few new hurdles.

Having already given way to fellow Republican Rep. Mark Kirk in the race for U.S. Senate, Andrew McKenna has set his sights on Springfield, officially launching his bid for Governor in 2010. McKenna made the announcement this morning in Chicago and is already coming out swinging with this campaign video, titled "Hair Today."

Already looked in a heated battle with fellow Democrat Dan Hynes for the Democratic primary, Gov. Pat Quinn - who replaced ex-governor Rod Blagojevich when Blago was impeached and removed from office last winter - went through the formality this morning of officially announcing his run for governor in 2010. The announcement comes in the wake of one poll that puts Quinn's approval rating at only 45 percent. The primary is February 2, 2010. Be sure to check out Kevin's 2007 interview with Gov. Quinn.

With the recent announcement by Republican Andrew McKenna that he's entering the fray for Governor in next year's election, the Illinois gubernatorial election is heating up. With the primary election on February 2nd 2010 quickly approaching, plenty of candidates have stepped up to fight for the right to lead Illinois. Here is a quick run down of some of the major candidates:

Even though he formally announced his bid for Governor almost a month ago, Comptroller Dan Hynes has finally launched his full campaign and unveiled his tax plan for battling the state's budget crunch. CBS 2 has more on Hynes' plan and The Reader has some more info as well.

State Comptroller Dan Hynes has announced he's taking on Gov. Pat Quinn in next year's gubernatorial race. As a fellow Dem, if he wants to nomination, he'll have to first knock of Quinn in the party's primary. We'll have more on this later, but for now, The Reader's Mick Dumke has a solid look at Hynes.

It's exciting times in Illinois politics - and almost impossible to keep track of the players. The 2010 election, about eight months out at this point features three key races - and enough plot twists to keep even the most well-informed political junkie interested.

If there is one thing we can thank the former Governor for, it’s the gridlock in state funding he helped to create that has left a long list of “shovel ready” projects. Illinois may have benefitted from this laundry list, of sorts, winning quick approval for many transportation projects in the federal stimulus program.

By a vote of 59-0, the Illinois State Senate has voted to remove Rod Blagojevich from the office of Governor. Pat Quinn will now be sworn in in as the 41st Governor of the State of Illinois.

As we prepare for Pat Quinn to be sworn in as the 41st Governor of Illinois upon Gov. Blagojevich's impending removal, we thought we'd dig back into the vaults for this interview. Kevin Robinson sat down with Quinn in April 2007.

Governor Rod Blagojevich's impeachment trial gets underway on Monday and things are, what else, a hot mess. So what's going on in the World of Blago as the trial approaches?

The first person that came through the door at the Governor's press conference wasn't Blago, but rather a man in a wheelchair. He was the first of several "ordinary" citizens that stood beside the Governor as he gave his impassioned, defiant, and arrogant speech. But what did these Citizen Props think of the Governor?

We're eager to hear what Blagojevich has to say about this morning's impeachment. Below is a live feed of the presser courtesy of MSNBC, so watch along with us and share your thoughts in the comments.Will he resign? Will he maintain his innocence and his promise to fight-fight-fight? Will he quote more Kipling?

Blagojevitch lawyers Sam Adams, Jr. (left) and Ed Genson (right) confer while facing the state's impeachment committee. AP Photo/Seth Perlman