7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Officials: Special Election Costly, But Worth It
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and State Comptroller Dan Hynes say they both back a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama.

The two Democrats are at odds with Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who would prefer to appoint a candidate, assuring that the seat would be retained by a Democrat.

"At this point the appointment process, I think, has come under such controversy that the better approach would be to let the people decide through special election who the next senator should be," Hynes said.

Quinn says in general he's in favor of letting voters choose public officials, but he says the economic crisis makes it vital for the state to have two senators in place.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, a special election would cost roughly $31 million, down from an earlier estimate of $45 million to $50 million.

Meanwhile, experts say candidates would need to raise $10 million to $20 million quickly if Illinois held a special election. Here are the amounts in the campaign funds of some of those mentioned as possible candidates:

Fund balances through Nov. 24, 2008, according to Federal Election Commission records:

* U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Chicago), $603,554 cash on hand; $114,283 debt.
* U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Chicago), $598,464; no debt.
* U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston), $420,927; no debt.
* U.S. Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Chicago), $268,122; no debt.
* Illinois Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat who resides in Hoffman Estates , $6,913; no debt. (from 2006 congressional campaign)
* U.S. Rep. Mark S. Kirk ( R-Highland Park ), $211,349; no debt.

Fund balances as of July 1, 2008, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections:

* Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D), $2,599,548.97; no debt.
* Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr. (D), $1.609,624; no debt.

(Illinois Radio Network)
12 13 08 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.