Oh no he didn't!

Oh yes he did.

Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar endorsed Kirk Dillard for Governor of Illinois yesterday. I have met Mr. Dillard and am confident he is one of the qualified candidates for Governor. I am just not so sure he wants to take the endorsement of Mr. Edgar.

Lets set the way-back machine for November 9, 1994. On a Wisconsin highway, a commercial truck lost a portion of metal from its frame. Subsequently a mini-van stuck that piece of metal. It pierced the van's gas tank and the vehicle erupted into flames. 6 children died of burns suffered that day because of that piece of metal. And the reason that metal ended up on the highway is the result of a tragic turn of events that started in Springfield, Illinois.

The driver of the truck which lost the piece of metal received his CDL (commercial driver's license) by participating in a system of bribes and corruption in the Illinois Secretary of State's office. He was not qualified to be driving that truck legally. He purchased his license with the price of a bribe and at the cost of 6 young children. The Secretary of State at the time was George Ryan. He would later go on to become Governor where the trail of his scandal would eventually send him to prison, as it would his successor, Rod Blagojevich.

The Governor of Illinois in 1994 was Jim Edgar. His office failed to root out the corruption that existed right under his nose in the Secretary of State's office. I suppose he thinks that enough time has gone by, and that no one will remember how he was the head of a State Government system known far and wide for graft and swag. I suppose he feels his endorsement is too far removed from the lingering pain of a family grieving the loss of their children. I suppose he thinks his endorsement is worth something.

Maybe he is right. His endorsement is worth something. His endorsement lets us know that he supports the continuation of the pay-to-play politics Illinois is known for.

I am a candidate for US Senate and I would never accept the endorsement of Jim Edgar. And that isn't going to be a problem since Mr. Edgar has already endorsed another US Senate Candidate. Representative Mark Kirk has been heartily endorsed by former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar in his race for the US Senate. You may draw your own conclusions about the implications of that endoresement.