Monday, October 26, 2009 11:07 PM CDT
Ill. candidates line up to file for Feb. primary
By KURT ERICKSON, JG/T-C Springfield Bureau
SPRINGFIELD — Monday marked the first day candidates hoping to run in the Feb. 2 primary elections could file to get a spot on the ballot.
Offices up for grabs in the 2010 election range from governor to state legislator.
Some of those who filed Monday with the Illinois State Board of Elections are familiar to most voters.
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, for example, is hoping to get a full four-year term after ascending to the top spot when former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was booted out of office in January. Quinn’s Democratic opponent is three-term state Comptroller Dan Hynes.
On the GOP side, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady is angling to improve upon his third place finish in the 2006 GOP primary for governor.
He’s hoping his name recognition will vault him past a crowded field expected to include the party’s 2002 nominee, Jim Ryan, who said he would file by the Nov. 2 filing deadline.
Brady, a Bloomington Republican, filed the maximum of 10,000 signatures needed to land a spot on the Feb. 2 ballot.
“Voters are looking for a clean break from the politics of the past, and I am ecstatic that volunteers in every part of Illinois put me on the ballot,” Brady said.
Another familiar name filing Monday was Judy Baar Topinka, who is running for comptroller. The former state treasurer has been out of politics since losing her 2006 bid for governor. For now, her Republican opponent is Jim Dodge of Orland Park.
Others who filed Monday will be unfamiliar to many Illinois voters.
For example, Democrats seeking to replace Hynes as comptroller include Raja Krishnamoorthi of Hoffman Estates and state Rep. David Miller of Lynwood.
Donald Lowery, a Golconda Republican, filed to run for Barack Obama’s old U.S. Senate seat.
Lowery, a former local judge, is among at least five Republicans seeking the seat, including U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk and John Arrington of Harvey.
The race for lieutenant governor also figures to be a lively one, with a number of Republicans and Democrats expected to file.
Among the first Republicans filing for the No. 2 spot was Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole. Other Republicans filing include Jason Plummer of Edwardsville and Don Tracy of Springfield.
On the Democratic side, state Sens. Terry Link of Waukegan and Rickey Hendon of Chicago, as well as state Rep. Art Turner of Chicago filed to run for lieutenant governor Monday.
Some candidates planned to wait until the Nov. 2 deadline to file. Among those were state Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline, who spent the weekend campaigning for lieutenant governor in southern Illinois.
In central Illinois, two Decatur Democrats filed to run for the state Senate seat once held by Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville.
Macon County Board member Tim Dudley and Illinois State Fair Manager Amy Bliefnick will square off Feb. 2 for the right to take on Republican state Sen. Kyle McCarter of Lebanon, who was appointed to Watson’s seat earlier this year.
In the 18th Congressional District, Springfield Democrat Deirdre Hirner filed to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, a Peoria Republican.
Former state Rep. Gary Hannig’s 98th House District seat, which stretches from Taylorville to Litchfield, will be the site of a Democratic faceoff in February.
Hannig left the House to become chief of the Illinois Department of Transportation. His wife, Betsy, who currently holds the seat, is not seeking election to a full term.
Chris Sherer of Hillsboro and Charles Landers of Bunker Hill filed to run as Democrats for Hannig’s old seat, while Wayne Rosenthal of Morrisonville is running as a Republican.
Contact Kurt Erickson at kurt.erickson@lee.net or 789-0865.
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