State Dem Leaders Pick Simon For Lt. Gov Slot

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 28, 2010 4:30PM

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."

Simon clinched the nomination on the first round of voting yesterday. Per the Tribune:

Simon won on the first ballot, receiving the support of central committee members representing 57 percent of all the votes cast in the state's 19 congressional districts in the primary, while Turner got 30 percent. Two other finalists got a total of 4 percent while House Speaker Michael Madigan, the state Democratic chairman, did not cast his 8 percent share of the vote from his Chicago Southwest Side and suburban district.

Simon's nomination came in spite of a strong bid from State Rep. Art Turner (Chicago) who finished second behind Scott Lee Cohen in the February primary. Cohen later dropped out due to controversy over his sordid past. But who knows what shadows lurk in Simon's dark past of...tepid local bluegrass jamming? (via the Sun-Times)