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2 Democrats reconsidering 18th District bid

Posted December 10, 2007 10:00 pm

Bernard Schoenburg

Two Democrats who once considered running for the their party's nomination for the U.S. House from the 18th Congressional District say they are open again to the idea now that the only Democrat who filed for the post, Dick Versace, has dropped out.

But both Circuit Judge Rick Grawey of Peoria and former state Rep. Bill Edley, who votes in Peoria but works for the state in Springfield, say any decisions are a ways off.

Each man would have to leave his current job to make a run for Congress.

"Certainly, it's something (my wife) Anne and I are going to consider," Grawey, 59, said Monday. "This is a big decision, and it's worth considering for more than just a few days." He said being a judge, as he has been for 17 years, is "one of the best jobs in the world."

"It's incumbent on the Democratic Party to put forth a strong, funded candidate," said Edley, also 59, who lived in Macomb when he was in the Illinois House from 1989-95. "It would be a disgrace, in my view, if they didn't."

But Edley made clear that he hopes the party finds someone else to run, and he is not campaigning for the job.

"If they want to talk to me, I would talk to them," he said. "Our country used to have a history of people running for public office as a personal sacrifice. … I wouldn't run to be a celebrity. It would be a personal sacrifice for me, and I'd rather that someone else whom I could support would run."

Still, Edley said, he sees a "real possibility" that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., could lead the ticket as the Democratic presidential nominee in November. If so, he said, "it gives a congressional race in Illinois a kick-start."

Another Democrat who considered a run, state Sen. John Sullivan of Rushville, said Monday he will run for a third term as senator, not for Congress.

Versace, a former Bradley University and NBA basketball coach, announced last week he was dropping out of the race due to "unforeseen personal circumstances."

As a result, the Feb. 5 primary ballot apparently will not have a Democrat listed.

Steve Sturm, legal counsel for the State Board of Elections, said a new state law specifies that write-in candidates for Congress must file 61 days before an election. For the Feb. 5 primary, that deadline passed last week.

Write-in candidates file with county election authorities, not the state board, so there might still be one or more write-ins on some county ballots. But to get on the November ballot, a Feb. 5 write-in will need 928 votes - the same number of valid signatures a Democratic candidate for the House seat needed at filing time.

If no Democratic candidate is nominated in the primary, the new election law says Democratic county chairmen will have 60 days after the primary to fill the vacancy on the November ballot, Sturm said. In the 18th District, that leaves the choice up to 20 county chairmen. Each would cast a weighted vote equal to the number of Democratic ballots cast in their county Feb. 5.

Tim Timoney, Sangamon County Democratic chairman, said Monday the party will do what it can to win the seat. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, isn't seeking re-election.

"We'll definitely exercise any opportunity we have to make sure there is a Democratic candidate on the ballot in November," he said.

"It just changes our direction," Peoria County Democratic Chairman Billy Halstead said earlier. "Instead of having the rolling momentum, now you have to go back to the drawing board."

Grawey said he thinks foreign-policy missteps by the administration of President Bush continue to improve chances for a Democrat to win in the 18th, which has been in Republican hands for decades.

"I think people are ready for change," Grawey said.

The three Republicans seeking their party's nomination for the House seat are state Rep. Aaron Schock and John Morris, both of Peoria, and Jim McConoughey of Dunlap.

Karen McDonald of Gatehouse News Service contributed to this report. Bernard Schoenburg can be reached at (217) 788-1540 or bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com.

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