A selection process that began with a cattle call of choices following the disturbing revelations about the man Illinois Democrats had chosen in the February 2 Primary to run for Lieutenant Governor (that had forced him to step down from the ticket) ended on Saturday. In the end, the 38 members of the Democratic State Central Committee opted for the safest possible course, agreeing to name as their candidate the person Governor Pat Quinn had officially declared a day earlier to be his choice to run as a team in the November election... Sheila Simon, the daughter of the late U.S. Senator, progressive icon and onetime Illinois Lt. Governor Paul Simon.
Sheila Simon, 49, is a law school professor at Southern Illinois University. Among her past students there was the son of the man she defeated on Saturday, State Rep. Art Turner (D-9th), an African-American lawmaker from Chicago's West Side, who had come in second to Scott Lee Cohen, who had withdrawn his candidacy following revalations that Cohen had once been arrested for reportedly holding a knife to his girl friend's throat.
How did Simon win, and what does it mean? More below the fold.
For the second time in two months, Rep. Turner's quest to become the Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor was undermined by not having the entire African-American community behind him. In the Primary, State Senator Rickey Hendon (D-5th), whose district includes all of Turner's House district, ran for Lt. Gov. mainly to block the hopes of his political rival on the West Side (Hendon finished thrid in a six-candidate race, allowing the political novice Cohen to edge Turner).
On Saturday, Turner's hopes hinged on getting the weighted votes of the seven African-Americans on the State Central Committee, six of whom represented the state's three African-American Congressional Districts (including Congressmen Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Danny Davis, all of whom were elected to the State Central Committee while winning renomination for another term on Capitol Hill). But Rush chose to vote for Simon instead.
Simon narrowly won an absolute majority of the weighted vote (1,092,845 votes; 959,522 votes were needed) on the first ballot, with Turner receiving 581,813 votes. Former State Comptroller candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi received 56,999 weighted votes while Du Page County Board Member Dirk Enger got 27,733 weighted votes. Some votes were not cast on the first ballot, including those of Illinois House Speaker and State Party Chairman Michael Madigan.
Turner's chances for selection may have been hindered by the fact that there are arleady three African-Americans on the seven-office Democratic state ticket here in Illinois. African-Americans already on the ballot are incumbent Secretary of State Jesse White and the candidates for Comptroller and State Treasurer, State Rep. David Miller and former State Rep. Robin Kelly, respectively.
What the ticket did not have until Simon was selected was anyone from outside of the Chicago area in general or outside of Cook County in particular. With the Rethug ticket being headed by Downstate State Sen. Bill Brady and with the GOP also having a Downstater for Lt. Gov., Simon will bring the Democratic ticket some geographic balance.
In addition, Simon brings the reputation of intrerity that her father had throughout his political career. Even the Republicans quickly conceeded that, even while attacking her and Gov. Quinn for their progressive policies.
Simon, a former county assistant prosecutor and a past member of the Carbondale City Council, had run unsuccessfully for mayor of that Southern Illinois community (losing to the incumbent Republican, who in turn lost his bid for Lt. Governor in the Republican Primary in February to 27-year-old Jason Plummer, an "executive" in his family's lumber yard chain). Simon had been appointed by Gov. Quinn to serve on his Illinois Reform Commission to help draft various reforms in the aftermath of the scandals that led to the arrest, impeachment and removal by the Illinois General Assembly of former Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Simon is also expected to help Quinn in reaching out to women voters, as well as bolstering the ticket's appeal to Downstate voters and to independents.
Quinn and Simon are expected to lauch their joint campaign with a flyaround taking them to the various Illinois TV markets on Monday.