Candidates line up in primary races for governor

By Nicole Harbour

The close of the filing period for the February 2 primary last Monday left a large pool of candidates for governor, including seven Republicans, four Democrats and two Green Party candidates. They are:

Republicans

• Adam Andrzejewski, Hinsdale — Formerly employed by the publishing business he and his brother started, Andrzewjewski sold his share of the company in 2007 and founded the ForTheGoodOfIllinois organization, which is committed to bringing transparency, accountability, efficient service and frugality to Illinois government.
• Sen. Bill Brady, Bloomington — Brady, of the 44th Senate District, has served in the Illinois General Assembly for 16 years. A GOP candidate for governor in the 2006 primary, he lost to then-state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka. He is the ranking Republican on the Senate Insurance Committee and is a member of the Revenue, Pensions and Investments, Energy, and Environment committees.
• Sen. Kirk Dillard, Hinsdale — Dillard has served as a state senator for the 24th District since 1993. He formerly was a judge in the Illinois Court of Claims, director of legislative affairs for former Gov. James R. Thompson and chief of staff for former Gov. Jim Edgar.
• Andy McKenna, Chicago — The former Illinois Republican Party chairman, McKenna led the state Republican Party for four years before stepping down this summer. He most recently left his post as president of Schwartz Supply Co. in Morton Grove to join the campaign.
• Dan Proft, Chicago — Proft, a Chicago political consultant and pundit, has run several campaigns and served in various leadership capacities in state and municipal government since 1994.
• Jim Ryan, Chicago — A former Illinois attorney general, Ryan left politics in 2002 after losing a bid for governor to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Ryan is currently a Distinguished Fellow at Benedictine University in Lisle, lecturing in the area of law and government.
• Bob Schillerstrom, Naperville — Schillerstrom has been DuPage County Board chairman since 1998.
  

Democrats

• Comptroller Dan Hynes, Chicago — Hynes is in his third term as Illinois comptroller.
• Gov. Pat Quinn, Chicago — Former lieutenant governor for Rod Blagojevich, Quinn became governor on Jan. 29, when Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office. He is running for his first full term as governor. He also is a former state treasurer.
  Ed Scanlan, Oak Park — An attorney in the Chicago area, Scanlan has been practicing law for 32 years.
• William “Dock” Walls III, Chicago — A politician, community activist and former aide to the late Harold Washington, Chicago’s first African-American mayor, Walls has been involved in politics since the 1980s.

Green Party

• Richard Mayers, Chicago — Mayers has been a candidate in many Illinois primaries since the 1990s. In 2007, he was removed from the Green Party ballot after filing for the U.S. House in the Third Congressional District.
• Rich Whitney, Carbondale — Whitney, an attorney and partner in the Carbondale law firm of Speir and Whitney, practices in the areas of employment law, civil rights and criminal defense. He ran for governor on the Green Party ticket in 2006 and received 10 percent of the vote.