Search is on for Democratic lt. governor candidate

Newly freed from the radioactive candidacy of Scott Lee Cohen, Illinois Democrats now turn to the task of finding a new running mate for Gov. Pat Quinn.

And some in the know have two words of advice: background checks.

"Another bad choice after what has occurred would bring Quinn down, and it might impact the rest of the ticket," says Mike Lawrence, a former director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

Hours after Cohen tearfully bowed to intense pressure and announced he would step down from the ticket Sunday, lobbying calls were going out to party insiders who will soon have the power to slate the Democrats' new lieutenant governor candidate - a running mate for Quinn as he faces a tough general election battle.

The list of names being batted around is unwieldy and ever-growing, ranging from Iraq war veteran and former congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates to state Rep. Art Turner of Chicago, who came in second to Cohen in the primary.

Many Democrats do see the upcoming slating as a bonus for the party even as they will have to manage the potential for the public to perceive the maneuver as just another insider game.

At least now, they say, the party can pick a running mate who will have the best chance to shore up Quinn's statewide electability instead of undermining it, as was the case with Cohen's storied past of domestic abuse charges, steroid use and contentious divorce filings.

Normally, the governor candidate is forced to run with the lieutenant governor primary winner regardless of political differences or past controversies. If Cohen hadn't said Sunday he would step down, Democratic leaders could do little to stop him from running.

"This is an unfortunate situation," said Robert Wagner, a 6th Congressional District Democratic committeeman from Villa Park. "But in a way, it has a good side to it. We can chose someone who will run well with the governor."

Some suburban committeemen contacted Monday said they would consider appointing a downstate candidate to run with Quinn. Every candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket is from Chicago and Quinn didn't do well downstate in his close primary against Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes.

"We have a ticket packed with Chicago people," noted Dan Pierce, a former Highland Park mayor and 10th District committeeman.

A racial balance could also be sought, as party insiders hope to increase black or Hispanic turnout in the general election.

Yet, ultimately it seems to be anyone's guess at this point who might win the nod in the end.

The final decision is up to the 38 members of the Democratic State Central Committee, who like Wagner and Pierce, are party leaders and activists elected during the primaries within congressional districts. The committee is led by powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The final vote will be weighted by primary turnout in the congressional districts, with committee members from heavily Democratic areas having more of a say than those from more Republican regions. That means votes from Chicago committeemen will likely count more than votes from some suburbs and downstate areas.

The committee is next set to meet March 15, and it is unclear how long the process could take. Democrats will certainly be pushed to name a successor to Cohen in quick fashion so the campaign can get under way.

Many suburban Democratic committee members were mum Monday about who they might support. They seemed keenly interested in whom Quinn wants to run with, but Quinn wasn't yet talking publicly about that.

"Pat Quinn has to feel comfortable with whoever the state central committee picks," said Steve Powell, an 8th District committeeman and UFCW union leader. "This is a process that will unfold in a public way, and I think there are a lot of potential candidates out there."

One politician to be clearly ruled out is Hynes, who has said he isn't interested in the job, which has no official powers or duties other than to replace the governor in the event of death, impeachment or incapacitation.

The three-term state official came within about 8,000 votes of defeating Quinn, who himself rose from being lieutenant governor when Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached last year for his arrest on corruption charges.

A clear front-runner appears to be Turner, a veteran West Side Chicago lawmaker who had the backing of Madigan in the lieutenant governor primary.

"I don't think anyone has anything locked up," said Turner on Monday. "But in this case, I'm the guy. If they want to win in November and we want to get off the ground running, the end result will be that Art Turner was the best guy for this."

Others in the primary included state Sen. Terry Link of Waukegan, state Rep. Mike Boland of East Moline, state Sen. Rickey Hendon of Chicago and Thomas Castillo of Elmhurst.

Boland says his strong downstate primary showing should draw the attention of party insiders.

"We've got to have representation from all parts of the state or I think we face a danger that we could get mopped up pretty bad," Boland warned.

Some committeemen contacted said they weren't wedded to picking a candidate who ran in the primary. The wishes of Quinn seeming to prevail on them more.

Yet, if Quinn has a favorite, he isn't saying so publicly.

At a news conference Monday, Quinn called on anyone who was interested to throw their hat in the ring, but he didn't indicate a favorite.

And for that matter, Cohen hasn't officially stepped down yet. The first-time candidate needs to submit a letter to the state board of elections declaring he doesn't want to run in the general election before the Democrats can appoint a replacement. As of Monday evening, that had yet to occur.

And for now, the calls will continue to those 38 party insiders who are charged with picking Cohen's replacement once that letter does arrive.

"I'm sure over the next few days, I will be receiving lots of calls from lots of people," said Nancy Shepherdson, an 8th District committeewoman from Deer Park. "There is really no rush... We should make sure that we vet whoever is picked thoroughly, so we avoid this sort of thing in the future."

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