As my campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor ends, I want to thank all of you who have been so generous with your time, advice, financial support, and encouragement. The issues we raised regarding serious campaign finance reform, no new state income taxes, job creation through tax benefits to new corporations bringing jobs to our state, downsizing state government, ending pay to play politics, and making state government responsive to the needs of all citizens not just the special interests are critical issues that have been ignored by both parties for far too long. The Chicago Tribune in its editorial of Jan. 10, 2010, refused to endorse either Quinn or Hynes stating: "We wish the Democratic party had a better alternative" and "neither has inspired confidence that he can make the difficult decisions that must be made to resolve this state's financial crisis."
Unfortunately the Hynes campaign challenged the validity of over 5,000 of the 10,000 signatures we filed on my nominating petitions. The Board of Elections notified us on Wednesday before Thanksgiving that the examination of the signatures would take place at 9AM on Friday after Thanksgiving. We hastily assembled a group of thirteen and headed to Springfield to monitor the review of the signatures. Despite having no hand writing analysis the politically appointed examiners ruled that we were 78 valid signatures short of the required 5,000. My name was removed from the ballot. We were given 48 hours to secure notarized affidavits from those signers. It was not possible to do so-indeed it was meant to be impossible. The restrictive ballot access laws make it extremely difficult for voices not affiliated with the political machinery in our state to be heard in the primaries.
I strongly believe Illinois voters should have the opportunity to hear different voices, not just those of the special interests that have dominated our state government for decades. Non-partisan legislative districts, moving primary from February to June, and curtailing the power of the legislative leaders all need to be addressed and won’t be by either Quinn or Hynes.
The broken system is crippling Illinois' ability to deal with the fundamental reforms our state desperately needs. I intend to continue to speak out on these and other issues effecting our state government. I am working with my advisors and supporters to determine the best way to continue to shine a spotlight on the issues I raised during my campaign. Unfortunately, without either of the Democratic candidates addressing the key reforms needed, I worry that politics as usual will continue to govern our state.
This website will remain up and running and I encourage you to offer your feedback and thought. I plan on continuing to speak out and, as this initial leg of my political journey ends, I am proud of the issues we have raised. I am buoyed by the support of the younger voters who will be most effected by our political leaders failure to make the tough choices needed to restore some fiscal stability to our state government. I appreciate all of you who were so helpful in this campaign and welcome your input regarding the future of our state.
A few weeks ago, Ed sat down for a 30-minute interview on Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz. We went through a wide array of topics, but the state's budget crisis was at the forefront.. Watch complete video of the interview.
Someone out there is trying to keep Ed Scanlan under wraps. Why would Ed be encouraged to participate in the Union League Club of Chicago's Democratic gubernatorial candidate forum next Wednesday and then mysteriously find himself disqualified from the same event just 2 days later (see images below)?
This morning I held a press conference to challenge my opponents to a debate on the important issues facing our state, as well as address the ballot challenge.
The traditional media isn't giving us much of a shot in this race yet - and that's fine.
An article today shows everybody else what we've been able to see all along.
When people hear our message, the response is powerful. This website ranked first among all Democratic and Republican candidates in the race for governor of Illinois.
We hear your voices and we're going to win this with your support. Please sign up or donate today to help us take back the state of Illinois!
Big news! Today I am happy to announce I am officially on the ballot as a candidate for the Democratic Primary for Governor. I couldn’t have done it without the support and dedication of many volunteers who gathered the signatures of registered voters across the state. It was a truly Herculean effort that yielded 10,000 signatures that I delivered this morning to Springfield. Thank you!
I delivered some remarks at the Capitol Building in Springfield this morning to shed some light on yet another example of the sneaky politics that we can no longer tolerate in this state.
State Senate President John Cullerton has assured Governor Quinn that in the next day or two the Senate will push through the recall proposal authored by the Governor himself.
This proposal is a sham and it does nothing for the people of Illinois. In effect, the proposal requires a green light from party insiders before a petition can even be circulated among our citizens.
There are 18 states that currently have provisions for recalling elected officials.
My phone was ringing off the hook last night and my inbox was flooded – a bunch of the calls were from the media (see the links below to the press buzz on my announcement yesterday). But the vast majority were from people I hadn’t heard from in years – young people who see this state going down the tubes and who have become distrustful of the political process and its ability to make any change, friends who are police officers and teachers wanting to hear more about my plans for pension reform and to share with me their good ideas, people I’ve never met who called to congratulate me on the announcement and thank me for stepping up to try to repair our broken state. I’m new to the Facebook and Twitter world, but my young supporters tell me there is a buzz. People are excited. And so am I.
As I’ve said before, this will be a David and Goliath story if there ever was one – and I’m going to need a lot of help. I don’t have nearly the money raised that my opponents have. Nor do I have the signatures I need to get on the ballot. If you are willing to join me to try to turn this state around, please send an email to
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or sign up on my website. I’ll need an army of volunteers THIS WEEKEND to help get the signatures I need to get on the ballot. We’ll be downtown celebrating the Chicago marathon and working hard. Hoping to see you there!
Over the past few weeks, the question I’ve gotten more than any other is “why are you doing this?” It’s an honest question and, trust me, I’ve asked myself this question more than a few times.
I wanted to share with you what I’ve come up with.
I’ve been closely watching politics in this state since I was a kid. Over the past few years – and more pointedly in the last few months – I have grown infuriated with how dysfunctional our system has become. In fact, I’ve become embarrassed.
