Controversy surrounds Cohen's withdrawal from lt. governor race

The controversy surrounding Scott Lee Cohen's nomination and subsequent withdrawal from the race for Illinois lieutenant governor has renewed the debate over whether the position is needed at all.

Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of political science at UIS, said changing the way the nominee is selected is the ideal way to prevent a Cohen-like scenario from unfolding again.

Under current law, lieutenant governor nominees are selected independently of the candidate for governor, yet they run on a joint ticket in the general election. Running as a team in the primary election, Redfield said, would prevent it from being "just luck if the two
know each other and get along."

Redfield's comments were featured in a February 9, 2010, article in the Daily Herald.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100209-DailyHerald-Cohen.pdf

Electic list of winners partly due to low voter turnout

The list of victors from the Illinois primary election is electic. With such a hodgepodge of candidates moving into the general election, some say the most revealing mentality of the electorate may belong to the voters who didn't show at the polls.

Illinois political historian Charles N. Wheeler III, a professor at UIS, said the low turnout was ironic considering the disgust many Illinoisans directed at officeholders following Blagojevich's arrest in late 2008.

Wheeler's comments were featured in a February 7, 2010, article in the Daily Herald.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100207-DailyHerald-voterpicks.pdf

Brady already planning campaign against Quinn

Although the outcome of the Republican race for governor remains in flux, state Sen. Bill Brady headed out on the campaign trail Friday.

For now, Brady and Kirk Dillard are waiting for final ballots to roll in from absentee and provisional voters. If an official count in March shows the two still neck and neck, a recount process could be launched, forcing an even longer delay in determining who will represent the GOP in November, but that's not stopping Brady from plotting his run against Gov. Pat Quinn.

Chris Mooney, a professor of political science at UIS, said Brady is trying to define himself before Quinn gets a chance.

Mooney's comments were featured in a February 6, 2010, article in the Herald & Review.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100206-H%26R-Brady.pdf