Who is Pat Quinn and what kind of governor will he be?

Pat Quinn is not supposed to be "The Man."

He started his political career in the 1970s with resounding "boos" when he entered the state House.

Back then he was a disgrace to his Irish heritage, said state Rep. Michael Madigan, now the powerful Speaker of the House.

Quinn made a public name for himself championing measures that drew the ire of the political machine - cutting the number of lawmakers, forcing them to take their salary in increments like everyone else, pushing for ethics laws meant to undermine the machine's control.

But then something happened. He changed - became a bit tamer, many said.

After narrowly winning his bid for lieutenant governor in 2002, Quinn quickly fell in line behind Rod Blagojevich, the slick politician who rose on the back of the Chicago machine.

Today Quinn, 60, is governor because Blagojevich, the most prolific fundraiser in Illinois history, crashed in a scandal that tops any to come before it in the state's storied history.

The bizarre journey that has led Quinn to leading the governor's mansion has left even Illinois' most veteran politicians stunned.

"If 20 years ago someone told me Pat Quinn was going to be governor, I would have sold every piece of property I had in Illinois," said former Gov. Jim Edgar, who Quinn once called "a lousy governor" when contemplating a run for governor in the early 1990s.

Quinn once relished in comments like Edgar's - venom spewed by politicians he bluntly claimed where misleading voters and siphoning from the state.

But now that the consummate populist, once routinely referred to by the media as a "political gadfly," is in charge, those same politicians are wondering which Quinn they'll be dealing with - the tame insider willing to play ball or the self-possessed champion of the people who will throw them under the bus in a flashy news conference.

"Pat Quinn has certainly mellowed with age," says state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the populist Quinn doesn't return."

Observer Kent Redfield, interim director of the Institute for Legislative Studies at the University of Illinois' Springfield campus, agrees, calling it a "huge unknown."

Which Quinn is it?

In his first days as governor, Quinn appeared to be walking a tightrope between the two versions of himself.

"I believe in teamwork," he said. "It is amazing what human beings can accomplish when no one worries about who gets the credit, when people work together."

On his first full-day on the job, Quinn met with all the statewide office holders, including those he may face in a campaign battle next year, like Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. On the night he was sworn in, Quinn met with Senate President John Cullerton and he has had meetings with House Speaker Madigan, who once openly despised him.

Quinn says a conciliatory attitude to other state leaders and openness to work together are essential as they look ahead at how to dig the state out of financial squalor and repair the public perception of politics.

Yet, at the same time, Quinn is floating ideas likely to rile many in the political establishment.

Also on his first day, he said he wanted lawmakers to move the state's primary date closer to the general election, a long-sought goal of campaign reformers hoping to shorten the campaign cycle to reduce costs and lower the barriers for entry. The push flies in the face of lawmakers' recent decision to move the date up, under the direction of Madigan.

It is just the beginning of the reform measures Quinn plans to push that are likely to chafe lawmakers but woo good government types.

"I fully expect his office to lead on a lot of very good reforms," says David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, who has worked with Quinn over the years. "He has been tenacious and vigilant when it comes to staking out those issues."

In the days leading up to his certain ascension as governor, Quinn hired on Jay Stewart, who has blasted lawmakers and corruption as the head of the watchdog Better Government Association.

Quinn also told the Daily Herald recently he wanted to push for a law allowing citizens to pass their own campaign and ethics reform measures via referendum, ripping that power from lawmakers and giving it to voters.

The referendums could be implemented at any level of government, Quinn hopes, from park districts to Chicago to the state House.

"This means the voters will always have the means at their disposal, if they have a problem, to do whatever is necessary to clean things up," he said.

The old Quinn

That plan is classic Quinn, a man who has long put faith in voters and held a fundamental distrust of the legislature.

It was exactly such referendums that have put Quinn on the public stage through the years, with watchdog citizens cheering him and lawmakers jeering him.

In the 1970s, after working under populist Democratic Gov. Dan Walker, Quinn created the Coalition for Political Honesty, based out of a messy Oak Park apartment.

Over the years he put forward countless referendums, luring TV cameras to Sunday news conferences when he knew the news cycle was slow.

Some worked.

To this day, the Citizens Utility Board, which Quinn helped create, fights against electric and phone rate increases while keeping a watchful eye on ATM fees and corporate scams.

Quinn is most famous, or infamous depending on who you ask, for pushing the Cutback Amendment, which reduced the number of House lawmakers by a third.

Voters agreed with him that the cut would reduce state costs by eliminating salaries, though many political scientists these days say it really just solidified power in the hands of fewer people, like the Chicago mayor and leaders in the House and Senate.

Before the amendment, three lawmakers were elected from every district, giving a shot to dissenting voices and marginalized parties. Silencing those voices meant the death of the Republican Party in Chicago and, similarly, the Democratic Party in the much of the suburbs.

"I think he was wrong about the Cutback Amendment," says Morrison. "It has resulted in strongholds in parts of the state and it has really added to the kind (of) vitriol that takes over the legislature."

Many of Quinn's pet projects failed, including a push for term limits, the election of utility regulators and an attempt to stop the renovation of Soldier Field.

From the Coalition for Political Honesty, Quinn launched a political career that started with election to the Cook County Board of Tax Appeals after a major scandal landed numerous staffers there in prison.

He quickly moved on to head up Chicago Mayor Harold Washington's revenue department, cleaning it up following another scandal. Quinn was fired after Washington got fed up with the media attention he drew.

Quinn eventually made it to state treasurer for one term, but was squashed when he took on George Ryan for secretary of state in 1994.

Over the next decade, voters would continue to reject Quinn in his bids for statewide office until he narrowly won the lieutenant governor's race and joined the Blagojevich ticket in 2002.

The new Quinn?

It was following that race that his image as a reformer and champion of ethics started taking real hits.

For one, he supported Blagojevich throughout his first term and in his 2006 re-election, even reassuring voters of the governor's ethics after strong allegations surfaced.

And most recently Quinn flip-flopped in his initial support for a special election to replace President Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. He backtracked under pressure from lawmakers, many of whom feared the race might be lost to a Republican.

The new governor is already taking shots from the GOP, which has a new interest in tarnishing Quinn's ethical image.

"The people of Illinois are hungry for change, unfortunately, Blagojevich Democrat Pat Quinn has spent the last six years standing up for Rod Blagojevich and not the people of Illinois," said state Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna.

Yet, where some see a politician wavering in his ideals, others see a tamer version of Quinn that might actually get things done at the state Capitol.

"He is a sincere, honest man and I don't agree with him on some issues, but I think it will be an improvement over what we have had for the last six years," Edgar said.

His plans for the state

To be sure, political observers say cooperation between Quinn and lawmakers is essential.

"You need a governor who is going to be able to lead and mobilize public opinion," says Redfield. "You need a governor who is going to be able to get things done.

With a mounting $2 billion-plus budget shortfall, the state has not been able to pay its bills on time for more than a year, leaving state workers' health care bills delinquent, schools scrambling to come up with cash for essential programs and doctors and hospitals going unpaid for some services.

On top of that, Quinn takes the reins of a government stacked with Blagojevich appointees who may not be trustworthy and riddled with sweeping programs that have been virtually run in secret.

Then there is the rising unemployment rate, at its highest level in 15 years.

Quinn has refused to detail his plans, but he has provided a general outline of his priorities. He wants to attack the three largest concerns in the state head on: the budget, ethics and jobs.

Quinn supports a sweeping public works program that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and cost billions of dollars, but like every politician he is hung up on how to pay for it. He doesn't, however, favor new casinos that lawmakers have pushed in the past.

"The casino thing has been batted around quiet a bit and that would not be my first option," he said.

Quinn has previously supported referendums that would give voters the power to decide on new casinos.

On the budget, Quinn appears inclined to accept tax increases. He has supported increasing income taxes on those making the most in the state. However, he says he won't make any plans for some time and has asked to push back his budget address a month to March 18.

But plans are one thing.

Getting lawmakers and voters to sign on to them is the real challenge.

Blagojevich proved adept at not meeting that challenge in his six years in office with his cornerstone agenda often dying on the House floor.

Some lawmakers say the new Quinn might be able to change that pattern, not the old one.

• Daily Herald staff writer Nicole Milstead contributed to this report.

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