Lee Cohen bows out of Illinois lieutenant governor race

[Guest guest]

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0208/-Lee-Cohen-bows-out-of-Illi\

nois-lieutenant-governor-race

Lee Cohen bows out of Illinois lieutenant governor race

Lee Cohen dropped out of the Illinois lieutenant governor race Monday at

the urging of the state Democratic Party, after revelations that Cohen was once

arrested for domestic abuse.

By Mark Guarino Staff writer / February 8, 2010

Chicago

At the urging of the state Democratic Party, Illinois lieutenant governor

candidate Lee Cohen resigned from the race Sunday, leaving open questions

about the vulnerability of incumbent Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.

Mr. Cohen, who owns a family pawnbroker's shop and campaigned as an outsider,

won last week's state primary but his victory was tarnished once it was revealed

he was arrested in 2005 for domestic abuse and failed to pay back taxes and

child support.

Democratic Party leaders worried that Cohen's record would make Governor Quinn,

who stepped in after former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached last year,

vulnerable in the November election.

" There is uncertainty that if I continue to run that the Democrats will win in

November, " Cohen said Sunday at a tavern in the city's Far North Side. " Many

people came out to support me when I announced. The Democratic Party didn't, but

many people did. This is the hardest thing that I've ever had to do in my life. "

Quinn is not out of the woods yet, political analysts say. The two leading

Republican candidates for governor are facing a possible ballot recount and

depending on the outcome of that race, Quinn may face a migration of Democratic

voters upset by how the party has treated Cohen.

" Quinn's a little vulnerable, " says R. Craig Sautter, a former campaign

consultant for Quinn. " Cohen was elected by the voters and in a certain sense he

represents a part of the Democratic coalition of hardworking people who made

their mistakes in life and who don't [appreciate] professional politicians. "

These voters may be upset " at how the establishment turned the screws on this

guy, " he adds.

There is a possibility these same voters may redirect their vote to state Sen.

Kirk Dillard if he wins the Republican gubernatorial primary. Unlike his primary

opponent, state Sen. Bill Brady ®, who lives downstate and is largely unknown

to Chicago voters, Mr. Dillard lives in the Chicago suburbs and has a more

moderate record. He once appeared in an ad for Barack Obama's presidential

campaign.

On the Democratic side, state Rep. Arthur is vying to step in for Cohen,

a decision that is in the hands of the Democratic State Central Committee. Mr.

, the runner up who finished with 20,000 fewer votes than Cohen, released

a statement Monday saying he hopes to bring " 30 years of experience to the

executive branch as we solve the difficult economic and social challenges that

face this great state. "

The state central committee has the option of looking beyond the five candidates

who ran in the Democratic primary. Whether it does so or not may depend on the

outcome of the run-off between Mr. Brady and Dillard, and whether there needs to

be a candidate from downstate rather than from the Chicago area, which all the

candidates currently represent.

Illinois's lieutenant governor oversees several councils including the Illinois

Main Street Program, which promotes tourism in small towns.

Though the position is largely ceremonial, some say it is a necessary back-up

for the governorship. Mr. Sautter says the impeachment of Rod Blagojevich in

January 2009 showed voters the importance of the secondary office.

" Had there been no lieutenant governor, there would have been a power fight that

would have gone on for a couple of weeks, " he says. Instead, " Quinn was right

there to step in and he was able to give the people some confidence – that here

is someone they know and actually trust because of his long history in political

activism. "