'A Different Kind of Democrat,' vows a return to integrity

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ed Scanlan, Democratic candidate for governor of Illinois, Tuesday called Gov. Quinn's recall proposal "cynical," "a sham," and "a product of sneaky politics."

"Gov. Quinn's recall initiative, which he has called 'his baby,' is more of the same kind of sneaky politics that Illinois voters have suffered for too long and are sick and tired of," Scanlan asserted.

The measure passed the House and the Illinois Senate is expected to vote on the Quinn proposal on Thursday.

Scanlan, an attorney and a resident of Oak Park, announced his entrance into the February 2 Democratic primary last week and took his campaign to the State Capitol Tuesday.

"The Governor's measure, which Quinn himself has said he authored, is a sham because, in effect, it requires the green light from party insiders before the measure can be put to a vote by the people," Scanlan asserted.

Scanlan said Quinn's proposal should be scrapped and replaced with one more closely modeled after Wisconsin's. That state's recall legislation, which has been in effect for over a century, empowers the voters alone to recall their governor and all state and county officials without interference of any kind from party leaders or incumbent officeholders.

In announcing his candidacy last week, Scanlan unveiled a broad program of reform, which would restore fiscal responsibility and integrity to Springfield. Noting that the Illinois government has been racked by criminal indictments, budget deficits, and "pay-to-play" schemes and other scandals, Scanlan charged that, "Our system is broken and it is breaking us.

Central to Scanlan's campaign is a pledge not to raise the state income tax. The candidate said that by overhauling the Illinois public employee pension system -- which is underfunded by $73 billion -- by adopting state campaign finance laws in line with federal law and by streamlining government and running government more like a business, the state's many challenges can be overcome without a state tax hike.

(Ed Scanlan, 59, is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and DePaul University Law School. An attorney who has practiced law in federal and Illinois state courts since the mid-'70s, Scanlan has never held elected office nor received a government paycheck. The father of three girls and a boy, all grown, Mr. Scanlan and Libby, his wife of 34 years, live in Oak Park.)

SOURCE Scanlan for Gov

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