If Pat Quinn campaigned through the primary and general election with the urgency and tenacity he displayed in the gubernatorial campaign’s final weeks, he might have beaten Bill Brady by a wider margin than he did. The Senate campaign, meanwhile, was distilled to one issue: who did voters trust more? Did they trust the congressman who embellished his military record? Or the Golden Boy who oversaw a bank that failed and may have made loans to alleged mobsters? Ultimately, voters chose the former. more ›

It was nearly 1 a.m when Pat Quinn addressed his supporters at the Hotel Allegro when he pulled out a campaign button he bought as a teenager to support the Presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy fifty years ago in Westmont. "Kennedy won Illinois that year by 8,000 votes," Quinn reminisced, drawing a parallel between Kennedy's margin of victory and his own current gossamer-thin lead over Bill Brady in the race for Governor. more ›

The prime campaign time for November’s elections is just around the corner. Earlier this week the Illinois gubernatorial candidates had their first debate, but Democratic candidate Patt Quinn and Republican candidate Bill Brady weren’t present, although they were invited. The five independent candidates: Rich Whitney (Green Party), Lex Green (Libertarian Party), Michael White (Constitution Party) and independents Scott Lee Cohen and William “Dock” Walls, expressed their views at Chicago State University on July 8. Whitney is a familiar face. He ran for governor in 2006 and received 10 percent of the vote (unprecedented) leading the Green Party to be an “established party” under Illinois election law. Check out the debate below from Free and Equal - though it’s not so much of a debate as it is five guys talking about issues. more ›

Today is the deadline for independent candidates to file their petitions with the State Board of Elections to get on November's ballot and two notable names plan to file. Cook County commissioner Forrest Claypool said in a statement he plans to file 90,000 signatures today, well above the 25,000 required to get him on the ballot for county assessor. Talking to WBEZ, Claypool admitted he expects an immediate challenge from Dem candidate Joe Berrios. Said Claypool, "The only way we will not be on the ballot, I believe, is if there's something wrong with the system." more ›

• One University Park man took the "get off my lawn!" thing too far, shooting and killing a neighbor whose dog urinated on his front yard.
• Be careful on that train: theft on the CTA is up so far in 2010.
• Scott Lee Cohen has a running mate. Unsurprisingly, he did not get his first choice.

• The State House approved the proposed state tax holiday, passing it off to the State Senate.
• The Saga of Scott Lee Cohen now includes his underage son.
• Thanks a lot, Greece computer glitch.

After all the drama of the Lieutenant Governor's race and the "will he or won't he" back-and-forth about Scott Lee Cohen's potential return to politics, we finally have an answer: he's in. Cohen announced his official run for governor as an independent at a press conference earlier this morning. Still, he's got a tall task ahead of him, needing to get 25,000 signatures on a petition by June 21 to secure his slot on the November ballot. According to the Tribune, "Cohen said he has no running mate yet and is asking people to come forward if they are interested in the job." So if you're for the task, go ahead; it can't get any crazier. more ›

The Scott Lee Cohen for Governor rumors just won't go away. This week we learned that Cohen has informed House Speaker and Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan that that he will indeed run as an independent. Could this happen in any other state? Cohen’s self-financed $2 million Lt. Governor campaign revolved around commercials highlighting job fairs that the candidate had run. It will be interesting to see if his gubernatorial candidacy can keep the focus on similarly positive issues. more ›

What a long, strange trip it's been and it's apparently not over. The Saga of Scott Lee Cohen continued last week as Michael Sneed claimed Cohen was going to announce a run at Governor as an independent. The problem? Cohen didn't show up to the event where he was going to allegedly make the announcement. According to Chicago Current, Cohen was due to appear at the inaugural meeting of Reform Chicago Now, a group formed by former Republican comptroller candidate William J. Kelly. But Kelly told Current that Cohen skipped the event because he claimed the restaurant - Cafe Erie - told him the event was canceled out of fear of "retaliation from the city." Cafe Erie denied that allegation so there seem to be some sort of shenanigans going on. more ›

The Saga of Scott Lee Cohen might be starting a new chapter soon. Sun-Times resident scoopster/gossip monger Michael Sneed says Cohen is looking into a run at the governor's mansion this year as an independent. Sure, he had success as a lieutenant governor candidate and sure, there's certainly a sympathy vote out there, but a victory in the election, especially running as an independent, is highly unlikely so we can only assume that any run would be merely symbolic. more ›

Though any suspense was taken away when Gov. Quinn made clear his desire for her to be the pick, the Democratic State Central Committee still went through the formal process yesterday and officially nominated Sheila Simon to be the party's Lt. Governor nominee for the fall general election. Simon is the daughter of the late U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Paul Simon. Said Quinn after Simon's official nomination: “Sheila Simon is someone who I think is a very special person for our state, committed to reform, a person who understands what it is to live from paycheck to paycheck, to be a strong advocate for working men and women all over our state...I think we have an excellent ticket, and we look forward to campaigning across Illinois. Both of us want to be strong voices for all of Illinois, especially Downstate Illinois." more ›

Scott Lee Cohen may no longer be in the hunt to be Illinois' next lieutenant governor, but that doesn't mean he's ready to shut up about it. The reasons why Cohen got forced out of the race for Lieutenant Governor are legion, but leave it to SLC to come up with one that none of us had likely considered up to this point. In an interview with Chicago Magazine, Cohen blames his Jewish faith and a current of anti-semitism running through the state's political power structure: more ›

State Democrats will try to put the Scott Lee Cohen affair behind them later this month when they officially convene to vote on their new Lt. Governor nominee. Party leader Michael Madigan announced today that hearings will be held in Chicago, Hoffman Estates, Bolingbrook and Springfield next Saturday, March 20th, and that the vote on Cohen's replacement will be March 27. Over 220 people have applied online for the job which may soon be a thing of the past if Madigan gets his way. more ›

Illinois Democrats are no different from the average employer looking for a qualified candidate: they're hitting the web to solicit applications. Dems started an "online open casting call for applicants interested in serving as Gov. Pat Quinn's running mate in November," , the Tribune reports. more ›

House Speaker Michael Madigan's proposal to eliminate the office of Lt. Governor advanced in the Illinois House yesterday, as the House Executive Committee voted 8-0 to send the measure to the full house. Under Madigan's proposed amendment, the office would be eliminated by 2015. The bill must still clear the state Senate and be approved by voters in November. The Madigan Amendment would provide for the State Attorney General to assume the governor's seat in the event that the sitting governor quits, dies or is removed from office. more ›

Valentines Day has come and gone, but the political propositioning keeps on coming in the wake of the Scott Lee Cohen balls-up and the vacancy for a Democratic candidate for the completely unnecessary Lieutenant Governor seat. more ›

While Illinois grapples with the fallout from the Scott Lee Cohen debacle (not to mention Jason Plummer's vast lack of experience and qualifications on the GOP ticket), Rhode Island voters will have the opportunity to support a candidate for the number two slot that stands for nothing. Literally. Rhode Island lawyer Bob Healey is running for Lt. Governor of that state on the Cool Moose Party ticket, and his platform is simple: abolish the office. If elected, Healey promises not to hire a staff, not take the salary, and eventually abolish the office, which absorbs $1 million of the state's budget annually. more ›

• Naperville mayor George Pradel is recovering after suffering a heart attack Wednesday night.
• 52 puppies were rescued from a South Suburban puppy mill.
• A defense of Scott Lee Cohen. [via]

• While Scott Lee Cohen may have let himself be muscled off the Democratic ticket for Lite Guv, he's clearly not going away anytime soon.
• Speaking of Lite Guv, Illnois House Speaker Michael Madigan has proposed an amendment to do away with the office entirely by 2015.
• CBS 2's Dave Savini put away the black light for a minute to reveal a "hidden epidemic" amongst area school children. Not obesity, not autism -- gym class injuries.

Former Democratic Lt. Governor nominee Scott Lee Cohen sat down with WBEZ's Justin Kaufmann for a somewhat-humorous Wikipedia Files though Cohen is, understandably, wary. more ›

With Scott Lee Cohen now out of the race for Lt. Governor, the question remains: who will replace him? Speculation is already focusing on Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Duckworth, who lost a 2006 run at Congress, is apparently a favorite with Gov. Pat Quinn. But what about the other candidates who finished behind Cohen? And what of others interested in the position? Dems are in a delicate position of trying to find someone who can win while not hurting feelings but it seems like things are already getting a bit heated. Per the Tribune: more ›

A tearful Democratic Lt. Governor nominee Scott Lee Cohen announced his withdrawal from the Democratic ticket last night amidst increasing calls for him to remove himself from the ticket. Last week's revelations of Cohen's use of anabolic steroids, allegations of domestic abuse, and owing nine months in back child support payments while he pumped $2 million of his pawnbroker's fortune into his successful primary victory had party leaders fearing Cohen's presence could jeopardize the election chances of Governor Pat Quinn and Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias. Cohen came to his decision after a Friday meeting with State House Michael Madigan, who's also state Democratic Party Chairman. According to the Tribune, Madigan told Cohen "very direct and very frank" way to step down from the ticket. Governor Quinn's office released a statement following Cohen's announcement which read Cohen "made the right decision for the Democratic Party and the people of Illinois. Now we can continue to focus our efforts on putting our economy back on track and working to bring good jobs to Illinois." more ›

New voices have added their two-cents on whether Scott Lee Cohen, the beleaguered Democratic lieutenant governor nominee, should step down: his ex-girlfriend and ex-wife. more ›

Whew! Usually when the primaries are over, we get a few days of rest before the campaigns kick back into gear. But it's already been a busy day in Illinois political news for a number of reasons, which we will quickly burn through here. Since there's so much to process, it's best to break it down into bite-sized, easily digested chunks. more ›