Editing Jim Edgar (section)

== Illinois Secretary of State ==
In January 1981, Governor [[Jim Thompson (Illinois politician)|Thompson]] announced Edgar's appointment as [[Illinois Secretary of State]] to fill the vacancy left by incumbent Secretary of State [[Alan J. Dixon|Alan Dixon]] following [[1980 United States Senate election in Illinois|his 1980 election]] to the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=pg. 34- Illinois Issues, January, 1981 |url=https://www.lib.niu.edu/1981/ii810134.html |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=www.lib.niu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim Edgar and Ty Fahner Sept 1981 |url=https://www.lib.niu.edu/1981/ii810928.html |access-date=2024-08-20 |website=www.lib.niu.edu}}</ref> He won re-election twice in [[1982 Illinois Secretary of State election|1982]] and [[1986 Illinois Secretary of State election|1986]] with his 1986 re-election against the [[Illinois Solidarity Party]] nominee Jane N. Spirgel and the [[LaRouche movement|Lyndon LaRouche-backed]] [[Democratic Party of Illinois|Democratic]] nominee [[Janice Hart|Janice A. Hart]] being the largest statewide margin of victory in Illinois history until the election of [[Barack Obama]] to the U.S. Senate in [[2004 United States Senate election in Illinois|2004]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/bb&CISOPTR=42197&REC=11 |title=Illinois blue book, 1997-1998 :: Illinois Blue Books |publisher=Idaillinois.org|access-date=2015-06-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Christopher Wills |date=2004-11-03 |title=Commuters give Obama the thumbs-up |url=http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/obama03.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041104020001/http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/obama03.html |archivedate=2004-11-04 |work=Chicago Sun-Times}}</ref>
[[File:Jim_Edgar_(Illinois_Blue_Book_Portrait_1981-1982).jpg|thumb|239x239px|Illinois Secretary of State Edgar {{Circa}} 1981]]
During his first term as Secretary of State, Edgar diverged from past practices in the office by keeping many of the Democratic employees hired by his predecessor.<ref name=":42">{{Cite web |title=Oral History Interview with Jim Edgar Volume II |url=https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/Resources/267ee1cf-136e-4b19-8cc2-62f2be0cf0df/download |website=Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library}}</ref> He would later comment on his decision by saying "to me, the best politics is good government" and that in his view, as long as the employees did their jobs, he had no interest in firing them regardless of political affiliation.<ref name=":42" />

On policy, Edgar's partial term and first full term were largely defined by his work to toughen [[Illinois]]'s [[drunk driving]] penalties.<ref name=":2" /> This included strengthening breathalyzer requirements for individuals pulled over for possibly driving under the influence and reforming the state's legal view of driver's licenses to be a "privilege, not a right," thereby allowing licenses to be administratively suspended pending a court date for potentially driving drunk as opposed to the prior system where drivers retained their licenses until their court date.<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=Borysowicz |first=Joseph |date=October 3, 1983 |title=Edgar seeks tougher law |url=https://videttearchive.ilstu.edu/?a=d&d=vid19831003-01.2.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |work=Daily Vidette |pages=1, 9}}</ref> Edgar also voiced support for a [[Legal drinking age in the United States|national 21-year-old legal drinking age]] and was appointed to [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Ronald Reagan]]'s Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving in 1982.<ref name=":10" /> 

During his second term, Edgar spearheaded a successful legislative battle to pass a bill instituting mandatory [[Vehicle insurance|automobile insurance]] for Illinois motorists.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /> Prior to Edgar's intervention, the bill had been routinely defeated by the state's insurance [[Lobbying|lobby]].<ref name=":2" /> Edgar would later pick the [[Illinois Senate|Senate]] sponsor on the bill, [[Bob Kustra]], to serve as his [[Lieutenant Governor of Illinois|Lieutenant Governor]].<ref name=":2" /> Edgar also pushed forward an effort to construct a new [[Illinois State Library]] as its own building and his efforts to support the State Library during his tenure earned Edgar the nickname of "The Reader" from State Library employees.<ref name=":1" />

=== 1990 Illinois gubernatorial election ===
{{main|1990 Illinois gubernatorial election}}

On August 8th, 1989, Edgar announced his candidacy for [[Governor of Illinois]] following [[incumbent]] Governor [[Jim Thompson (Illinois politician)|Jim Thompson]]'s decision not to run for a fifth term.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 10, 1989 |title=Edgar keeping track of more than time |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/08/10/edgar-keeping-track-of-more-than-time/ |work=The Chicago Tribune}}</ref> Despite instantly becoming the [[Illinois Republican Party|Republican Party]]'s frontrunner and Thompson's [[Heir apparent|heir-apparent]], Edgar was challenged in the [[1990 Illinois gubernatorial election#Governor 2|1990 primary]] by perennial  candidate Robert Marshall and [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] political activist [[Steve Baer (political activist)|Steve Baer]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=William E. |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1990-03-12 |title=New Faces in Primary For Governor of Illinois |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/12/us/new-faces-in-primary-for-governor-of-illinois.html |access-date=2023-01-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Bear opposed the politically moderate Edgar's [[Pro-choice debate|pro-choice stance on abortion]] and his support of making permanent a then-temporary 20% income tax in support of the state's education system.<ref name=":4" /> Edgar won the Republican nomination with a little under 63% of the primary vote.<ref name="primary2">{{cite web |year=1990 |title=State of Illinois official vote cast at the primary election held on ... |url=https://archive.org/details/stateofillinoiso1990illi/mode/2up |access-date=8 April 2020 |publisher=Illinois State Board of Elections}}</ref>

In the general election, Edgar faced Democrat [[Neil Hartigan]], the incumbent [[Illinois Attorney General]] and the former [[Lieutenant Governor of Illinois|lieutenant governor]].<ref name=":122">{{Cite web |last=Levinsohn |first=Florence Hamlish |date=1990-10-25 |title=What's the Deal With Neal Hartigan? |url=http://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/whats-the-deal-with-neal-hartigan/ |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Chicago Reader |language=en-US}}</ref> A prominent figure in Illinois politics hailing from Chicago's political establishment, Hartigan was the state's highest-ranking Democratic official during the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Museum |first=Abraham Lincoln Presidential |title=Oral History Interview - Governor Jim Edgar Project Neil Hartigan |url=https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/oral-history/collections/hartigan-neil/interview-detail/ |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=presidentlincoln.illinois.gov |language=en}}</ref> As attorney general, Hartigan focused on consumer and disability rights, as well as environmental protection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Congressional Record |url=https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-170/issue-84/senate-section |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=www.congress.gov}}</ref> Running as a [[moderate Democrat]] with a focus on fiscal responsibility, he opposed making permanent the state's 20% income tax increase and attacked Edgar as a "[[Tax and spend|tax-and-spend]]" politician.<ref name=":4" /> During the campaign, Hartigan, like Edgar, also supported [[Abortion-rights movements|abortion rights]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Tumulty |first1=Karen |last2=Shryer |first2=Tracy |date=1989-07-08 |title=Some Officials Moving Toward Abortion Rights : 3 Governor Hopefuls Seem to Soften Stands Against Procedure |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-08-mn-2619-story.html |access-date=2024-08-20 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> 

Edgar, meanwhile, campaigned on extending the state's temporary income tax increase with a promise for no new taxes during his term as governor. He also focused on his character as a consistent leader while attacking Hartigan as being an indecisive policy maker who changed his opinions on issues when it became politically convenient, a perspective that had hurt Hartigan in the past.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":122" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite news |date=November 5, 1990 |title=Edgar bashes Hartigan in waffle stunt |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/11/05/edgar-bashes-hartigan-in-waffle-stunt/ |work=The Chicago Tribune}}</ref> At one rally towards the end of the campaign, Edgar held up a [[waffle]] and joked that it would become the [[Flag and seal of Illinois|state seal]] if Hartigan were elected.<ref name=":13" />
[[File:Edgar-gallery-4.jpg|thumb|Edgar onstage with his family and [[Lieutenant Governor of Illinois|Lt. Governor]]-elect [[Bob Kustra]] after winning the election.]]
Edgar's campaign was hindered by a poor national environment for [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and a desire amongst the Illinois public for a change in leadership following the previous four terms of Jim Thompson.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Jr |first=R. W. Apple |date=1990-11-08 |title=The 1990 Elections: Signals - The Message; The Big Vote Is for 'No' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/08/us/the-1990-elections-signals-the-message-the-big-vote-is-for-no.html |access-date=2024-08-09 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 

In the two weeks prior to the election, those hindrances paired with poor polling led Edgar to believe he was going to lose. But, despite trailing Hartigan for most of election night, Edgar narrowly won the election by a little over 2% of the vote.<ref name=":42" /><ref name="general">{{cite web |year=1991 |title=State of Illinois official vote cast at the general election .. |url=https://archive.org/details/officialvote90illi/mode/2up |access-date=8 April 2020 |publisher=Illinois State Board of Elections}}</ref> Edgar's close victory occurred alongside the re-election of incumbent [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]] in a [[1990 United States Senate election in Illinois|Democratic landslide]] and made Edgar one of only two Republicans to win statewide office in Illinois that year.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1990 |title=Edgar squeaks past Hartigan |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/11/07/edgar-squeaks-past-hartigan/ |work=The Chicago Tribune}}</ref> 

In the election's aftermath, a few factors were given credit for Edgar's success: his successful effort to market himself as a candidate representing change for the state despite being a Republican and his strong performance with groups that were not traditionally a part of the state's Republican coalition.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":14" /> 

Key to Edgar's narrow victory was Hartigan not being able to secure the typical large support for a Democratic candidate among Chicago's Black voters. In an era of Chicago politics defined by racial polarization, this was largely attributed to him originally being a vocal supporter of [[Third party (U.S. politics)|third party]] candidate [[Thomas Hynes (politician)|Thomas Hynes]], a longtime ally, against incumbent Democratic mayor [[Harold Washington]], the city's first black mayor, in the [[1987 Chicago mayoral election|1987 mayoral election]] .<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Broder |first=David S. |date=1990-10-29 |title=A 'D-Word' Spells Trouble for Black Democrats in Illinois Campaign |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-29-mn-2577-story.html |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> In addition, during the campaign, Edgar openly opposed President [[George H. W. Bush|George H.W. Bush]]'s [[Veto|vetoing]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1990]] and successfully courted the support of prominent Black leaders, including [[Lu Palmer]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Guy |first=Sandra |date=1990-07-12 |title=Black activists endorse Jim Edgar |url=https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/black-activists-endorse-jim-edgar/article_af45a37b-8c5c-540c-84e1-14ec9e419809.html |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=nwitimes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1994-09-25 |title=Black voters get less of Edgar's time |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/09/25/black-voters-get-less-of-edgars-time/ |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

As a result of Hartigan's shortcomings and Edgar's overtures to these longtime Democratic constituencies, Edgar ran stronger in the Black community than any Republican had in decades, earning a quarter of the black vote in [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]].<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":16">{{Cite web |title=Vote analysis of Edgar victory |url=https://www.lib.niu.edu/1991/ii910215.html |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=www.lib.niu.edu}}</ref> Edgar also performed better than Republicans traditionally did amongst Chicago's [[Latino (demonym)|Latino]] voters.<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":15" /> Edgar's gains amongst these traditionally Democratic groups helped negate his underperformance against Hartigan in other areas of the state, such as Chicago's [[collar counties]], that would have otherwise resulted in a loss.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":16" />