Cohen enters governor's race as an independent

Former lieutenant-governor candidate Scott Lee Cohen announced Monday he's entering the governor's race as an independent.

Confirming news reports that had floated for weeks, Cohen made the announcement at a news conference in front of the Thompson Center in Chicago.

Cohen won the lieutenant governor's nomination in the Democratic Primary in February, but within days the Chicago pawnbroker dropped out after a series of stories broke revealing alleged steroid abuse, divorce records containing allegations of abuse and failure to pay child support, and a domestic-battery charge filed by a convicted prostitute who was living with him at the time. That charge was dropped when the woman failed to make a court appearance, and Cohen denied he was violent toward her or his ex-wife.

"Everybody makes mistakes in their life," Cohen said Monday. "Everybody is entitled to a second chance, and everybody is entitled to redemption."

Cohen, who spent as much as $2 million of his own money in the lieutenant governor race, said he is launching a populist campaign with a pledge to bring jobs to Illinois - an element of his primary race that struck a chord with voters.

"My pain and suffering is nothing compared with the pain and suffering of the people of Illinois," Cohen said. "The need to help the people outweighs any of that."

Cohen enters the race with Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn, Republican state Sen. Bill Brady and Green Party candidate Rich Whitney, but he'll need 25,000 petition signatures to get on the ballot.

Quinn said he wouldn't be worried about running against Cohen.

"If he wants to run against me for governor, well, you'd better be prepared for the fight of your life," Quinn told reporters.

The Brady camp issued a statement making reference to how Cohen reportedly consulted with House Speaker Michael Madigan before dropping out as lieutenant governor and again before running as an independent for governor, saying: "Whether he manages to get on the ballot or not, Scott Lee Cohen is certainly in a position to speak about the backroom deals he's seen during this unusual saga. Regardless of who ends up being a candidate for governor in November, Bill Brady will continue to call for a clean break from the old politics in Illinois."

Whitney said he's "not overly concerned" about Cohen's possible candidacy, according to a statement on his website.