An Open Letter to Gov. Jim Edgar
Governor Jim Edgar takes the oath of office in 1991. (Photo: State Journal-Register)
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OPINION
Governor Edgar,
So many of us on any side of the political spectrum, found ourselves in shock at your announcement Monday. If you're someone who believes in the power of prayer, and I believe you are, you should know just how many people are standing beside you right now.
It's important that people know their significance in our lives, and you've long been a guiding light in my political life.
We joked on the phone last week that you were elected Governor a few weeks before my 7th birthday, so I was way more interested in tractors and the sandbox on our farm than I was in politics.
But I grew up in a place where Jim Edgar was worshiped. I remembered how my grandparents talked about the news, I remember overheating the old man farmers talking about you and politics at the The Eagle’s Nest diner in Crescent City, Illinois.
I called the Iroquois County Clerk’s office yesterday to confirm it played the same at the ballot box. In the nailbiter 1990 election, Edgar won 65% of the vote in my home county. By 1994, he hit 80%. That's better than Trump, for the record.
I first got the opportunity to sit down with you a few times when I was a reporter in Champaign. I was there the day in 2005 your career in politics officially came to an end when you passed on running for Governor again.
And since writing this newsletter, you've always been available and open to talking with me, from long form sit downs to Election Night visits to just last week when you gave me some thoughts on the Governor’s budget address.
It has never stopped being a surreal feeling for “Gov. Jim Edgar” to pop op on the phone of a poor kid from rural Illinois.
Why do I say all these things? Not because this is an obituary, hell no.
It’s a reminder of the importance you have and still play on our politics and government.
You preach decency in a time where decency in politics is dying.
You aren’t afraid to buck your party or say something nice about the other party in a time where our politics are far too tribal.
You led with courage and conviction that resonates 25 years later. When many of the people who followed you were either criminals or bumbling buffoons (or both), you were a reminder of what we are at our best.
You’re the moral compass of this state, Governor.
It’s only shown more in your work with the Edgar Fellows, as you try, as hard as it may be, to get politicians on both sides to learn how to work together.
We all know you have a tough fight ahead, and we’re all on your side.
I, for one, look forward to leaning on your wisdom for years to come.
