Jim Edgar
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James Edgar (born January 22, 1946) is an American politician who was the Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999.
Edgar was born in Vinita, Oklahoma and was raised in Charleston, Illinois. He graduated from Charleston High School and Eastern Illinois University, also in Charleston. A Republican, he was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives between 1977 and 1979. Five months after Edgar's 1978 reelection to the Illinois House (April 1979), Governor Jim Thompson named him his legislative liaison. Two years later, when then-Secretary of State Alan Dixon moved to the U.S. Senate, Thompson named Edgar to fill the vacancy in early 1981. In 1982 and 1986, Edgar won the office on his own and was the secretary of state until 1991.
In 1990, Edgar won the first of his two terms as governor, elected in a close race against his Democratic opponent, Illinois Attorney General Neil Hartigan. In 1994, he was reelected by a wide margin against another Democratic opponent, state comptroller and former state senator Dawn Clark Netsch.
In the elections of 1992 and 1994, the Republicans succeeded in capturing both houses of the state legislature and all statewide offices, putting Edgar in a very strong political position. He advocated increases in funding for education along with cuts in government employment, spending and welfare programs. His administration was marred by a tollway scandal involving a longtime friend and former mayor of Charleston, Bob Hickman.
When U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald announced in spring 2003 that he would not run for re-election in 2004, the Bush administration approached Edgar about running for the seat. Edgar seemed likely to enter the race, but he suddenly announced he wouldn't seek the seat, saying instead that he was giving his wife an early Mother's Day gift. His medical problems (he had recently undergone heart surgery) were also cited. The Senate seat eventually went to Democrat Barack Obama.
After months of speculation that he was once again considering getting back into politics, Jim Edgar announced on September 30 2005 at a press conference that he would not challenge Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2006. Tearfully, Edgar said that he has reached the end of his political career.
The Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area, near Virginia, Illinois, is named in Edgar's honor.
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