 Before the 1994 statewide
election, Illinois state government leaned
Republican with Jim Edgar serving as governor. The six statewide
offices were split, with Republicans Edgar, Bob Kustra and George
Ryan serving as governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state
respectively.Democrats Roland Burris, Dawn Clarke Netsch and Pat
Quinn held the offices of attorney general, comptroller and
treasurer respectively.
The General Assembly was split between parties as well. In the
Illinois Senate, Republican James "Pate" Phillip served as president
of the Senate, and the GOP had a five-seat majority over House
Minority Leader Emil Jones Jr. and Democrats.
The Illinois House was a different matter, where Speaker of the
House Michael Madigan and Democrats held firm control with a 16-seat
majority over Republicans and House Minority Leader Lee Daniels.
The election in November 1994 changed the balance of Illinois
state government. In January 1995, Republicans controlled all six
statewide offices and held majorities in both legislative chambers.
Netsch, now a law professor at Northwestern University, lost in
her bid to unseat Edgar as governor in 1994. She said voters'
attitudes heading into this general election are similar to the ones
she observed in 1994.
"There is a lot of anti-government feeling ... and the sense of
frustration one picks up on part of the voters," she said.
Netsch said what happens in Illinois could reflect what is
happening in national races, much like in the 1994 election, when
Republicans seized control of the U.S. House of Representatives for
the first time in 40 years.
Mike Lawrence, a longtime Statehouse observer, served as press
secretary for Gov. Edgar and provided assistance to his re-election
campaign in 1994.
Lawrence said straight-ticket voting is one mechanism that
Illinois voters had in 1994 that might have helped Republicans win
so convincingly in that election.
Straight-ticket voting, which was outlawed in 1997, allowed
voters to select all candidates of one party on their ballot.
"Voters in Illinois could vote straight-ticket back in 1994. They
can't do that today. When you do have a trend in favor of one party
or the other, it typically is accentuated (with straight-ticket
voting)," he said.
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Lawrence also said that Edgar's influence as a popular incumbent
may have contributed to a Republican sweep of statewide offices and
majorities in both legislative chambers.
Republicans won't have the luxury of an incumbent at the top of
the ticket in 2010. Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, is trying to
unseat current Gov. Pat Quinn for the state's top post.
Brady is one of several GOP statewide candidates hoping to bring
party balance to a state government controlled by Democrats.
Since 2006, Democrats have held all six statewide offices and
majorities in both the state Senate and House.
But Denny Jacobs, a former Democratic state senator who served
the Quad Cities, said Democratic voter turnout will drop for 2010.
Jacobs suspects that thousands of voters who turned out for the 2008
election, when Barack Obama was running for president, won't be as
energized for the 2010 slate of races.
"They've already said goodbye. The voting bloc that (Obama)
brought in isn't going to be there this election," he said.
Jacobs also said that the mayoral race in Chicago may draw
interest and fundraising away from statewide Democratic candidates.
Voters will have their say on Illinois' statewide races on Nov.
2.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By KEVIN LEE]
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