Jim Edgar

Jim Edgar (2013)

James "Jim" Edgar (born July 22, 1946 in Vinita , Oklahoma ) is an American politician . He was the 38th governor of the state of Illinois from 1991 to 1999  .

Early years and political advancement

Edgar came to Illinois at an early age. He grew up in Charleston and attended Wabash College and Eastern Illinois University . Between 1977 and 1979 he was an MP in the Illinois House of Representatives . That year, Governor James R. Thompson appointed him to his advisory board. He was then appointed to the cabinet by the governor as Secretary of State . He held this office for ten years until 1991. For the gubernatorial elections of 1990 he was able to prevail in his Republican Party against Steve Baer and win the nomination as the top candidate.

Illinois Governor

After his election victory over the Democrat Neil Hartigan , Edgar took over the governorship on January 14, 1991. After being re-elected in 1994, he was able to serve a total of eight years. During his tenure, he increased the budget for education policy and worked to improve the infrastructure in Illinois. The administration was reorganized. At the same time, jobs were cut to keep the entire state budget under control. He succeeded so well that by the end of his second term in office he had generated a budget surplus. Notable events during his tenure included a 1992 water ingress into a Chicago tunnel system that caused at least $ 40 million in damage, and a flood that caused huge damage and crop failures in 1993. In 1994, John Wayne Gacy , sentenced to death in 1980 for 33 murders, was executed. In 1994, Judy Baar Topinka became the first woman to be appointed Treasury Secretary of Illinois.

Governor Edgar's tenure was not free from discussions about himself. He was accused of his close association with Management Systems of Illinois (MSI). This company had been one of his campaign sponsors and then received overpriced government contracts that cost the state about $ 20 million. For this so-called MSI scandal, some state employees and private individuals were sentenced to prison terms. The governor himself was not drawn into the scandal, but his reputation was still damaged. His behavior in relation to the treatment of disabled and disabled people also had negative effects. While this group was given preferential treatment at the federal level when it came to recruitment, Edgar declined such preferential treatment. But he had to submit to a court ruling.

Further life

After he had not run for a third term, Edgar resigned on January 11, 1999 from his office. In the spring of 2003, his name was linked to a possible candidacy for the US Senate . After some hesitation, he decided not to run this candidacy. Barack Obama was elected to the Senate in his place . In September 2005 Edgar announced the end of his political career. He is currently employed by the University of Illinois at the Government & Public Affairs Department.

Web links

• Jim Edgar in nndb (English)
• Jim Edgar in the National Governors Association (English)
• Illinois Blue Book History and Election Results, p. 374