Quinn Yields to Party Leaders for Running Mate : Illinois Statehouse News

Quinn Yields to Party Leaders for Running Mate

By Bill McMorris, Illinois Statehouse News

CHICAGO — Gov. Pat Quinn said anyone interested in the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor can “submit a resume,” but the final decision is out of his hands.

Quinn, instead, will rely on Democratic leaders to decide who will replace Scott Lee Cohen on the ticket.

“The official body that makes the final decision is the state central committee,” he told reporters at a Chicago press conference.

Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes will not be on the list of potential lieutenant governors. Quinn said he met with Hynes on Monday and talked with him about joining the ticket. The governor said Hynes did not want to be his running mate.

The Democratic Central Committee is a 38-member panel led by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. Democratic leaders are conducting a statewide search for a replacement candidate, moving the hunt beyond the five other Democrats in the primary, a move that Quinn is praising.

“The primary’s over,” he said. “We should be looking to November and anyone who aspires [to the office] should have a chance to make their points.”

Some Democrats have wondered aloud about finding a downstate running mate, in an effort to counterbalance Republican frontrunner Bill Brady. The Bloomington senator garnered more than 90 percent of his support from southern and central Illinois, which does not bode well for a Democratic ticket largely centered in Chicago.

Quinn said he disapproves of using geography as a key selection factor.

“I think we should analyze their positions more than their address,” he said.

Quinn said he has not reached out to anyone he feels would make a good running mate, nor has he recommended anyone to the committee. But he does know what he wants in a lieutenant governor.

“I want to run with somebody that’s qualified to be lieutenant governor, who has a record of public service, someone who is able to speak to ordinary, everyday people in plain language about the importance of the economy,” he said.

Quinn said he would prefer filling the ticket “sooner rather than later,” but the committee has until early March to choose Cohen’s successor.

Quinn Yields to Party Leaders for Running Mate : Illinois Statehouse News