About Cook GOP
Chairman
Leadership
City Of Chicago
Cook County
9/2/2010
Stroger Just Doesn't Care Anymore
8/31/2010
Berrios Under the Microscope
8/31/2010
GOP Takes Unprecedented 10-Point Lead on Generic Ballot
09/08/2010
Reception for Senator Bill Brady
09/12/2010
Carl Segvich for Commissioner Fundraiser
09/12/2010
Elk Grove Township GOP Family Picnic
Meet Roger Keats
Had Enough of Pat Quinn?
Pat Quinn's Christmas in July
Quinn says running mate should consider stepping down
2/4/2010 12:39:42 PM
Chicago Tribune - Gov. Pat Quinn today said his new running mate, a Chicago pawnbroker with a 2005 domestic battery arrest, should consider withdrawing from the race because his background could hurt the Democratic ticket in the November general election.
Scott Lee Cohen "has an obligation to step aside" if his past becomes a problem, Quinn said at a news conference.
"I do believe that the person who's had these matters brought up about himself should at least have a chance to talk about them to the public, but if his explanations are unsatisfactory, and so far they have been, then he has to do the appropriate thing," Quinn said at a news conference.
"Our country and our state are bigger than ourselves. The Democratic Party is bigger than me or any other candidate. If there are matters that are raised about your conduct that disqualify you from running in a proper way for an election in the fall, then the only appropriate thing is to step aside. And I think that's what we're looking at here."
Quinn did not say Cohen's name once during the hour-long news conference.
Quinn also said he has spoken with Michael Madigan, the Illinois Democratic Party chairman and House speaker, about the process for finding a new lieutenant governor nominee.
While Democrats might pressure Cohen to drop out, it's doubtful that they can outright force him off the statewide ticket as state law now exists. Democratic voters elected Cohen Tuesday after spent more than $2 million of his own money on his lieutenant governor bid. Cohen bested five other candidates, including some state lawmakers.
Quinn was faced with the new crisis even as his rival, Dan Hynes, announced he was conceding the Democratic primary nomination for governor.
Cohen, a pawnbroker who was the surprise winner in the little-publicized contest among half a dozen candidates, had previously disclosed his 2005 arrest. He described it Wednesday as an argument with his drunken girlfriend and said he didn’t lay a hand on her, though she called the police and had him taken into custody.
But the official police and court records show that the woman alleged Cohen put a knife to her throat and pushed her head against the wall.
In their October 14 arrest report detailing the complaint from the 24-year-old woman, Chicago police noted they observed “mild abrasions from knife wound” on her neck. They also noted “minor scars on her hand from her trying to defend herself against the arrestee swinging the knife at her.” The report notes the woman was seen by ambulance personnel but not taken to a hospital.
The case was dropped a month later when the woman did not show up for a court date.
Cohen won in large part because his self-financed campaign ran TV commercials late in the race showing him running job fairs to help the unemployed. He only garnered 212,900 votes but it helped him defeat opponents, including state Rep. Art Turner and state Sen. Terry Link.
A little more than a year after former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s removal, the state’s Democratic powerbrokers focused much of their time, energy and money on the top tier race of governor, leaving the less-known lieutenant governor’s race to go well under the radar.
The lack of a Democratic cohesive strategy leaves the party unclear of its options for the general election.
It also adds yet another punchline on Illinois politics, which has been the focus of national jokes and derision since Blagojevich’s high-profile arrest, impeachment and indictment.
In conceding the race this morning to Quinn, Hynes was asked how he’d feel if he had won and been paired with Cohen.
“The first I learned of any of this was when I read the paper this morning,” Hynes said. “But we’re going to let that sort itself out, and figure out, you know, with more information. I think that some decisions will be made. But I’m not in a position to make those decisions, given the fact that I just learned about it this morning.”
Cohen is scheduled to appear on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" at 7 p.m.
