Hynes to make announcement this morning in gov.'s race

With the Republican race for governor heading for a second day of overtime, Gov. Pat Quinn widened his lead in the Democratic primary and his challenger scheduled an "important" news conference for Thursday morning.

Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes said he wanted to wait until all the votes are counted before deciding to concede to Quinn or move for a recount - a lengthy and expensive proposition in Illinois. But he has scheduled an "important announcement" for 10 am. today. The development comes with Quinn's winning gap growing as the remaining uncounted precincts trickled in late Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the drama on the Republican side is shaping up to have the potential to play out for weeks.

Republican state senators Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady remained only a few hundred votes apart, with Brady remaining slightly ahead Wednesday. That photo finish is threatening a recount, though neither campaign has said yet they are ready to pull the trigger and both believe they will win once all votes are tallied.

"It could be a couple of months," said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady about a final outcome. "... We are not done yet."

Quinn kept up the appearance of the Democratic winner Wednesday, declaring himself the nominee and heading out to greet morning commuters in Chicago. A congratulatory phone call Wednesday from President Barack Obama added to the effect.

"I just think that the results are in, the primary is over, the people heard both candidates and got a chance to vote," Quinn said, while shaking hands in downtown Chicago.

Hynes spokesman Matt McGrath said Obama also called Hynes, in what he described as a "warm call."

"He certainly did not ask us or tell us to concede," McGrath said. "He understands and appreciates Dan's position that every vote should be counted."

At last count, with more than 99 percent of the vote in, Quinn was up by more than 8,000 votes in a primary that drew about 900,000 ballots. That is larger than the 5,000-plus vote margin Quinn had when he declared victory shortly after midnight Wednesday.

At the moment, talk of a Republican recount is mere political conjecture. The election results have to be official before they can be challenged and they won't be official until March 5. After that, state law requires any challenge to be filed within 15 days. To do so, notice must be given the to the clerk of the Illinois Supreme Court along with $10,000.

From there a process kicks in for notifying election authorities and setting up recount procedures. Illinois hasn't had a statewide recount since the 1982 governor's race between Republican Jim Thompson and Democratic challenger Adlai Stevenson III. Thompson ultimately won.

However, election laws have changed since then and state elections officials said they are beginning to look into what preparations they might need to make in the event of a recount request. The Illinois State Board of Elections meets later this month.

Republicans gathered at a "unity" breakfast downtown Wednesday morning, granting both Dillard and Brady time to address the crowd of supporters and reporters.

Former GOP Chairman Andy McKenna is currently only 1 percentage point back in the race, but party officials concluded he cannot make up the difference and declined to give him a speaking role at the breakfast. McKenna left the event early.

Dillard and Brady avoided direct shots at each other and insisted they would wait until all the votes are counted before plotting their strategy ahead. Each said he would win in the end.

The razor-thin margin comes after a vigorous campaign among six candidates. Suburban and Chicago contenders, including Dillard, former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan and McKenna, appeared to split the wealth of votes in the region while Brady consolidated strong downstate support to put him in a narrow lead.

Brady did crack a joke about Dillard's bid during his brief, off-the-cuff speech.

"I know this election is tight, and I wish Senator Dillard would concede right now," Brady joked as Dillard sat just to his left. "But I know he is not likely to."

Brady said afterward that he would expect Dillard to wait until all the votes are in, which could take days.

Dillard said he planned to do just that while dismissing questions of a recount.

"We believe every Illinoisan's voice needs and deserves to be heard. We do not know who won yet and we probably won't for several more days," Dillard said Wednesday evening.

Daily Herald staff writers Tim Magaw and Chase Castle contributed to this report.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="/news/politics/elections/2010/primary/race/?id=1">Results, complete coverage on the governor's race</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>