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Illinois Gov. Quinn narrowly defeats GOP opponent

CHICAGO — Democratic Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has narrowly defeated his Republican challenger.

An AP analysis of uncounted votes from absentee and other ballots shows state Sen. Bill Brady won't be able to overcome the just more than 19,400-vote lead Quinn holds with 100 percent of precincts reporting Thursday.

Brady has said he won't concede until all votes are counted, including absentee ballots from military members serving outside Illinois. State officials have until Dec. 3 to certify all results.

Quinn inherited the governor's mansion nearly two years ago when lawmakers ousted Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-uh-vich) after his arrest on federal corruption charges. He campaigned on a proposal to raise the state income tax by one-third as Illinois struggles with a deficit that could top $15 billion.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn shook hands with voters at a popular Chicago deli Thursday, calling his lead in one of the nation's still-undecided governor's race insurmountable, as his Republican challenger scoured for uncounted votes to determine if they could help close the gap.

Quinn's slim margin of votes has grown since Tuesday's election. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Quinn has a lead of more than 19,000 votes over state Senator Bill Brady, out of more than 3.6 million ballots cast.

"I think the people of Illinois know I won the election," Quinn said Thursday, but he would not officially declare victory and he refused to call on Brady to concede, saying that was a decision for the state senator from Bloomington to make.

Brady also has said he does not plan to concede.

"We remain in an information-gathering phase to ensure we know how many ballots remain to be counted to ensure that no voter is left by the road," Brady spokeswoman Patty Schuh said.

Brady has said he's willing to wait as long as a month for official results to be certified by state election officials, which is scheduled to happen Dec. 3.

In Kane County, one of the Illinois counties that backed Brady over Quinn, there were about 170 absentee ballots that still needed to be counted Thursday along with provisional ballots that are determined to be eligible. About 1,300 absentee ballots also were unaccounted for because they have not been returned to election officials and there's no guarantee they will be, officials said.

Waiting for results won't be easy for Brady because he will have to persuade supporters to stay optimistic. Quinn will have his own challenges if the race drags on.

The Democrat may face a fall legislative session without any certainty he'll be governor come January — a handicap as he tries to resolve a budget deficit that could hit $15 billion next year.

He could get an early indication Thursday of how the close election will affect his ability to lead. The Senate has scheduled a vote to deal with a key issue of Quinn's: borrowing $3.7 billion to make Illinois' payment to its pension system. Quinn's office said he was not expected to travel to Springfield.

Still, the possibility of not having the election settled until the state certifies results early next month won't completely undermine government business, said Democratic Senate President John Cullerton.

"There's a process set out in state law so that situations like this are addressed. ... Regardless of the outcome, Pat Quinn is governor, and he's going to be governor until at least Jan. 10," Cullerton said in a statement.

An Associated Press survey of 90 percent of the state's election jurisdictions found as many as 50,000 absentee and provisional ballots also had yet to be counted.

"I seem to have a penchant for close elections," Brady said. "Having been through this process before I know the importance of making sure every voice is heard and every vote is counted. I believe we will win."

In February, Brady squeaked out a Republican primary win by fewer than 200 votes and was not officially declared the winner until more than a month later.

Quinn, the former lieutenant governor, has been on the job since replacing ousted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in January 2009. But Quinn's often been unable to get lawmakers to go along with what he wants.

Tuesday's election marked his first shot at a full term.

Democratic Rep. Jack Franks of Marengo predicted the pension borrowing plan, which stalled in the Senate last spring, would fail because there isn't enough support. That, he said, has nothing to do with the outcome of Tuesday's election.

"A mandate only applies when you have a strong, charismatic leader people believe in and are ready to follow. That doesn't characterize our governor," said Marengo, who has been critical of Quinn.

An unsettled election also could slow down Quinn's progress on the politically risky income tax increase he campaigned on to help relieve the state's finances. He wants to increase the tax rate from 3 percent to 4 percent to generate more money for education, although lawmakers wouldn't get behind his previous push.

Lawmakers are unlikely to tackle such a thorny issue until the winner of the governor's race is finalized, said Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of politics at the University of Illinois-Springfield.

"They'd want to be very confident that this is part of a four-year strategy and not suddenly have to be dealing with a Gov. Brady," Redfield said.

Brady campaigned on a pledge not to raise taxes.

___

Associated Press writer David Mercer contributed to this report from Bloomington.


Eric D. Schwerin
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