OpenlineBlog Endorses Proft for Governor

February 1, 2010

It's been a while since there was a such a large field of candidates and going into the final day, it's not clear how anyone will finish, but there's a few things that have emerged.

Bill Brady appears to be a solid candidate who is fiscally conservative and can handle prime-time, but we aren't sure he has the firepower to beat a Democrat in November with his downstate support.

Adam Andrzejewski has correctly portrayed himself to be an outsider...so much so, he has demonstrated he's not as familiar with the nuts-n-bolts of state government as he could be over time. He's correctly blasted Chicago's political mafia (Daley, Madigan, etc), but we aren't sure if he's ready for prime-time and his candidacy is taking away votes that would otherwise have gone to Dan Proft. We wish Adam would have stepped back and endorsed Dan Proft.

Andy McKenna seemed to be on a roll, but the wheels have started to come off. We like his "no tax increases, cut spending" message but he's been avoiding debate, discussion and direct questions on a variety of legitimate concerns about his role as state party chairman. Ethics are critical to the next Governor of Illinois and if you can't deal with these questions head-on now, it tells us as Governor, you could choose silence over transparency.

Kirk Dillard gives us mixed feelings. Many Republicans blast him for doing an ad supporting Barack Obama for President, but that's not what bothers us most. It's the fact Kirk Dillard also "gets along" with the rest of the political mafia that controls Chicago and Springfield. He is not the type of person to stand up to his buddy, Chicago Corruption Kingpin Richard Daley or Illinois Czar Michael Madigan. We need someone who will have the courage to CHANGE things and Kirk Dillard's best hope is to just not screw up as much as the previous two Governor's.

That leaves us with Dan Proft and Jim Ryan. And, we endorse BOTH. They have different strengths, but after a lot of careful review, we are confident Illinois will be better with either of them as the next Governor of Illinois.

Jim Ryan, the former Illinois Attorney General, stepped away from politics after losing to Blago in 2002, but he's still got the fight necessary to change things. He is a person of integrity and that's not something we can say about most of the leadership of Illinois. He is a candidate that most of the Republican party and many Democrats can find themselves supporting and he has a proven track record of being able to win statewide.

Dan Proft has been the most articulate, consistent and passionate candidate about the need for a policy revolution and bold CHANGE to how we do business in Illinois. If you watch the debates, forums and interviews with candidates, many times, it's Dan Proft's ideas that are being referred to or his initiative to take on difficult issues. He understands how the political game is played and knows where the tricks of the political mafia will be used. He can challenge the political mafia, expose their scams and introduce solutions that can change things. As Governor, he would be the most bold CHANGE that Illinois desperately needs.

If you are looking for bold change, we suggest Dan Proft. If you are looking for someone with political experience, we suggest Jim Ryan. We trust both.