Will Vallas Run Again?

By Kevin Robinson in News on Apr 29, 2008 4:10PM

With all the jockeying going on to take out the governor recently, it should come as no surprise that Paul Vallas is floating his name as a possible candidate. The former Chicago schools chief, who lost to Blago in 2002 by just over 20,000 votes, signaled that might run again. "While some people have been dodging indictments, I’ve been running a school district," Vallas told the crowd at a City Club luncheon yesterday. "I feel frustrated and angered. And, look, I think I could have made a difference," he said. "Clearly, I could have gotten along with the legislature much better."

In spite of his remarks, however, Vallas claims he's not laying a foundation to run again in 2010. "I’d be open to running again, but right now I wouldn’t make a decision until after the first of the year," he told reporters after his speech. "I'm here to talk about education, not to launch a campaign for governor," said Vallas, who is working as superintendent of the Recovery District of New Orleans. His contract there is set to expire next year. Lt Governor Pat Quinn, who called on "members of the Illinois General Assembly... to engage in serious debate on the most important issues of our time," at a press conference yesterday, was reticent. "I wouldn't rule out anything," Quinn told CBS2. "But, I think that's really not really what people want right now. They don't want a lot of candidates runnin' for governor two or three years from now."