Blagojevich ouster ends low profile of no. 2 Quinn
Raymond Stanford has followed Illinois politics for decades, studying newspapers and watching television news. Even so, he doesn't recognize the state's new governor.
"I don't know nothing about Pat Quinn," said Stanford, 48. "Who is he? All I know is that he's a Democrat."
Quinn was sworn in as the 41st governor of Illinois shortly after the state Senate yesterday convicted Governor Rod Blagojevich of abuse of power, on accusations that he tried to sell President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat. The switch pushed Quinn into the spotlight while constituents are still a bit hazy about their new leader.
About half of more than a dozen Illinois residents randomly surveyed at Chicago's Union Station yesterday said they wouldn't recognize Quinn if they saw him. Those who thought they could didn't agree on his appearance, describing him as tall, short, heavyset and average build.
Nor did they know much about their new leader's politics. Three people knew he supports veterans' affairs. Only one was aware that Quinn, 60, is a proponent of campaign-finance reform. None could say if he is pro-choice or anti-abortion, or where he stands on gun control.
"I think people in Illinois know who he is," Bob Reed, a spokesman for Quinn, said in a telephone interview. "He's been an advocate for Illinois taxpayers for years."
Reed said he couldn't point to position papers on those topics immediately and suggested looking at Quinn's Web site, www.standingupforillinois.com. A search of the site showed that Quinn supports child safety locks for guns, and didn't turn up his position on abortion.
A feature on the site, Pat Quinn's ABCs, explains his positions under letters of the alphabet. "G" stands for green, as in environmentally friendly, and "T" is for textbooks, which Quinn is trying to make more affordable, the Web site says. "L" is for Lieutenant Governor, providing historical facts about the state's No. 2 executives.
The need for an Internet primer on a serving governor doesn't sit well with Neil Mikula, a construction superintendent from Huntley, a suburb north of Chicago.
"I'm a little bit concerned because I've never heard of the guy," said Mikula, 52. "Where's he been for the last however many years 'Blago' has been in office?"
Blagojevich, 52, was arrested Dec. 9 for what U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called "a political corruption crime spree." The governor and his former chief of staff, John Harris, 46, were accused of trying to sell the Senate seat, soliciting bribes and pressuring the Chicago Tribune to halt critical editorials.
Quinn and Blagojevich, also a Democrat, aren't political allies. Quinn called for Blagojevich to resign, and the two hadn't spoken in 18 months before the arrest, according to Jay Stewart, Quinn's former general counsel. Illinois candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run separately in primary elections and on one ticket in the general campaign.
The new governor has been active in politics for three decades. Quinn attended Fenwick High School in Oak Park, just outside of Chicago, earned an international economics degree from Georgetown University in Washington, and trained as a lawyer at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago. He served as an aide to former Governor Dan Walker, who was elected in 1972.
Quinn organized successful petition drives to reduce the size of the state Legislature and to create a utility watchdog agency. In 1980, Illinois voters approved his so-called Cutback Amendment, paring the state House membership by a third, to 118 seats.
He was elected commissioner of the Cook County Board of (Property) Tax Appeals in 1982 and served as state treasurer from 1991 to 1995. He was elected lieutenant governor in 2002 and 2006.
In Union Station, Sonny Manzo, who also attended Fenwick High School, said he hopes Quinn will be an improvement over Blagojevich. Other than knowing where Quinn went to school, Manzo was short of facts. Manzo said he is probably more conservative than Quinn.
"I have to assume that Quinn would be the lesser of two evils," said Manzo, 35, a director at a consulting firm in Northbrook, a Chicago suburb.
Bob Weber, a municipal and real estate attorney, was the one person interviewed who could reel off Quinn's positions.
"He's against waste in government," said Weber, 69, who lives in Edgebrook, a neighborhood on Chicago's north side. "He's big on veterans. He's big on campaign finance reform."
Fred Mazurski, an energy buyer, had a more typical reaction when asked about Quinn:
"Who?" said Mazurski, 54, a resident of Homewood. After a moment, he remembered a few things about the new governor.
"He was in favor of keeping picketers away from the veterans' funeral services," Mazurski said. "He sounded very, very rational. He can only improve the credibility of Illinois in the eyes of the country, if not the world."
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=268164">Mayors pin hopes on Quinn: Restore pride, govern openly</a></li> <li><a href="/?id=268194">Quinn promises a new style of leadership </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=268286">Blagojevich ouster ends low profile of no. 2 Quinn</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=268191"><B>Editorial:</B> Gov. Quinn's chance to make a mark</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>