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Madigan proposes eliminating Illinois lt. governor's post starting in 2015
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| Contributor | COSDem |
| Last Edited | COSDem Feb 10, 2010 02:49pm |
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| Category | Proposed Legislation |
| Media | Newspaper - Daily Herald (Suburban Chicago) |
| News Date | Wednesday, February 10, 2010 08:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The lieutenant governor's office would be eliminated beginning in 2015 under a proposed state constitutional amendment filed today by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The proposal comes on the heels of the scandal-plagued candidacy of Chicago Democrat and pawnbroker Scott Lee Cohen for the office. Cohen announced this past weekend he'd leave the ticket and forgo the nomination as pressure grew over his past.
Shortly after his primary victory, stories emerged about a 2005 arrest for holding a knife to his girlfriend's throat. Those charges were later dropped. But next came allegations of steroid abuse and other claims of physical violence from divorce records.
Although he initially balked at giving up the nomination, he acquiesced after talking to Madigan, influential chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, who said he warned Cohen the personal scrutiny he was undergoing would get worse.
Cohen was an unknown until he spent $2 million of his own money to secure the nomination. His candidacy has again prompted questions of whether the lieutenant governor's office is needed.
Candidates for that office and governor run separate of each in the primary and then are paired for the general. The lieutenant governor has no real official duties other than to serve as a replacement should the governor die or be ousted, which is how current Gov. Pat Quinn became governor. |
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