More Announcements in Statewide Races

By Kevin Robinson in News on Aug 7, 2009 3:20PM

With election season in Illinois officially underway, this week brought a slough of announcements, and sort-of announcements, about how's running for statewide office, and who isn't.

• Republican DuPage County State's Atty. Joe Birkett announced that he won't be taking on Lisa Madigan for Attorney General. "I have assessed the political environment, the anticipated costs, and the commitment of time, among other factors. It has become clear to my advisors and me that it will be virtually impossible to compete financially with Lisa Madigan," he said in a statement on his website. "She has the power of incumbency and her father continues to control the flow of campaign contributions. It would be wrong for me to run and to ask people to contribute to a race that that is virtually unwinnable under the circumstances."
• 7th Ward Alderman Sandi Jackson hasn't actually said that she's going to run for Lt. Governor, but she did send an email out to supporters that read “Sandi Jackson for Lieutenant Governor?” in the subject line. Although the email made no mention of the potential run, her husband, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr told the Tribune that "she hasn’t made a judgment...I know she is very committed to the people of the 7th Ward. She has 1,500 volunteers in her organization who are primed to circulate [nominating] petitions. A number of people have asked her about [running for lieutenant governor]. She is considering it.”
• State Comptroller Dan Hynes un-officially announced that he is officially running for governor. Hynes sent an email out to supporters saying that he would make an official announcement in the coming weeks that he is indeed running for governor. "I have made the decision to run for governor because I know that Illinois must do better," the email said. Hynes and Governor Pat Quinn have been taking shots at each other the past few weeks.
• And while Pat Quinn is definitely running for governor, he may be pissing off some state workers while he's worked to fix the budget. That's because he's proposed rolling back a 2.5 percent pay increase for state employees, saying it will save taxpayers $125 million. "The legislature didn't make the cuts," he said. "They didn't want to make the cuts. They wanted me to make the cuts. There's a lot of people on the sidelines criticizing," Quinn told CBS 2. "I did not create the budget deficit. I inherited it from my predecessor. We're dealing with it as best we can to make sure the state of Illinois is alive and well." The governor is hoping to meet with AFSCME, the union that represents many state employees soon, to begin discussing ways that Illinois can save money during the recession. State employees that are unionized will likely get to vote on any cost-cutting measures before they're implemented.