Governor's race tightens in final week
With the race to claim their respective party nominations now down to its final week, Republican and Democratic candidates for governor crisscrossed the state Tuesday, beginning a final swing to drum up votes before Tuesday's elections.
At O'Hare International Airport, former Gov. Jim Edgar reiterated his support for state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale and derided the glut of negative political ads as "silly season."
"I think the voters deserve better," Edgar said.
Dillard is Edgar's former chief of staff and the candidate has essentially staked his campaign on the former governor's continued popularity, particularly among suburban voters.
Edgar's appearance with Dillard comes as recent polls have shown a statistical dead heat among Dillard, former party chairman Andy McKenna and former state Attorney General Jim Ryan, with the rest of the field trailing by only a few percentage points. It also comes as McKenna, in the midst of a downstate swing on Tuesday, launched a new ad questioning Dillard's GOP credentials because Dillard appeared in a Barack Obama ad during the run-up to the 2008 Iowa presidential caucuses.
Dillard has said he supported John McCain in the race and his appearance in the ad was not an endorsement. He's expected to unveil a new campaign ad today.
On the other ballot, Democrats are trying to allay economic fears among voters by focusing on jobs even as the state's unemployment remains in double digits.
Democratic candidate Pat Quinn had nothing on his campaign schedule with only a week left. But Gov. Quinn's public schedule included a South Side appearance to announce Ford Motor Co.'s plans to move more than 1,000 jobs to its Torrence Avenue plant.
"The production of the new Ford Explorer will create 1,200 new jobs in Illinois and make way for a brighter economic future," Quinn said in a state news release. "I want to commend Ford for investing nearly $400 million in its Chicago-area manufacturing facilities to increase production and staff."
The night before, during a televised debate with rival Dan Hynes, the state comptroller, Quinn cited the pending Ford announcement as proof of his job creation acumen.
Campaign finance reports show Quinn received a $1,000 donation from Ford on Dec. 9. Ford also gave $500 to Dillard's campaign in July.
Hynes countered Tuesday by accepting the endorsement of several state lawmakers at a Chicago job training facility. Among those backing Hynes was McHenry County Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks.
Hynes is slated to head downstate today where labor backers are launching what's described as a "major union push" in targeted downstate areas. Several trade and education unions have been among Hynes' top campaign financers and are known for their ability to mobilize volunteers and turn out the vote.
In the Republican race, Ryan, of Elmhurst, has been trying to lock up DuPage County voters following the exit of County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom from the campaign, though his name will still be on the Feb. 2 ballot.
Ryan criticized McKenna for missing Republican debates, including one Tuesday night in Chicago. A McKenna spokesman cited a scheduling conflict. He said the candidate had long ago announced he couldn't make Tuesday's debate and had participated in others since first announcing his campaign.
Brady, meanwhile, continues to try to cultivate his downstate base. He finished third in the governor's primary four years ago.
Adam Andrzejewski, a Hinsdale businessman, and Dan Proft, a Chicago political consultant, also seek the GOP nomination.