Then you have Lisa Madigan, who the media loves, but if you ask the sheeple that voted for her to name one thing she's ever accomplished besides being Mike's daughter, they can't.
That leaves Roland Burris, and when he and Jim Ryan ran against each other for A.G. back in 1990, Burris won. He grew up in downstate Illinois and pro-gun, so some conservatives tolerated him. When they had the Dem primary debates for Governor in 2002, all sides agree that Burris gave the most warm and geninue performance and won those debates by a clear margin over Blago and Vallas.
2002 was my first election. I liked O’Malley but thought Ryan was fine and would win so I voted for him in the primary. Do it over I’d vote for O’Malley. Of course it’s disappointing he turned a blind eye to George. Calling him a Bob Dole is a good comparison.
His elections for AG after narrowly losing to Burris weren’t that close. ‘98 was a landslide.
#
* Jim Ryan (R) (inc.), 62%
* Miriam Santos (D), 38%
# 1994 Race for state Attorney General
* Jim Ryan (R), 55%
* Al Hofeld (D), 45%
Blago came in third in Chicago and strongly won downstate, surprising given Burris’ background. The machine obviously picked him, the worst candidate to win. Burris might have won it in 1998 if not for his comments. A black guy with downstate appeal, he’s really the ideal rat candidate. Him not getting the nod in 1994 over that old lady is shocking. I guess Daley must have been pissed he ran against him and undermined him.