Gov. Jim Edgar expects to run for re-election next year with fiscal integrity as his strong suit, but will not make a final decision about a campaign until undergoing a thorough heart exam in October.
The Republican had an angioplasty five months ago to remove blockages in two arteries leading to his heart and is scheduled to undergo a one-year anniversary examination in the fall.
“I don’t want to imply I’m thinking about not running, but I also have not made that final call, and I’m not going to until sometime in October,” Edgar said in an interview.
“One of the things I want to get done is to have that physical checkup because I’m sure that will be an issue that gets raised in the campaign,” Edgar said. “My health is probably better now than it has been in years. I feel the best I’ve felt since long before I announced for governor.”
The governor called it “a blessing in disguise” that the life-threatening blockages were discovered in an examination before they caused a heart attack or required open-heart bypass surgery.
“That was the last thing I thought I’d have a problem with,” Edgar, 46, always trim and health-conscious, said of his heart. “Yeah, I have to say, I had some anxious moments. You start thinking about what’s important in life, and contrary to what some people might think, running for political office was not that high on the list.”
A strict diet and exercise regimen has helped Edgar control a high cholesterol problem that was a result of heredity and stress. “Exercise every day, 45 minutes on the treadmill in the morning, helps keep me mellow for the rest of day,” said Edgar, who also likes to hike, ride his bicycle and play tennis.
Known to be a strict taskmaster and micro-manager, Edgar said he has moderated his intensity level. “I only yell at these people about four times a day, instead of 10 times a day,” he quipped, gesturing to nearby members of his staff.
Apart from questions about his health and stamina heading into a rigorous statewide campaign, the only other political downside to Edgar’s angioplasty was the expenses-paid trip to the pricey Pritikin Institute that he accepted from Quaker Oats in January as part of his heart rehabilitation.
As for his standing with voters, Edgar said he feels strong there, too.
A history buff, Edgar was asked to assess how he will be regarded over time on the basis of his initial term in office. Edgar answered: “He was a politician who kept his word.”
Democrats will venture a different judgment in what can be expected to be a hard-fought campaign next year, but opinion polls indicate that, for the time being at least, voters agree with Edgar.
“We have definitely downsized and managed state government in a manner that has enabled us to get through tough times without asking for more from the taxpayers, and I think they appreciate that, the fact that not only we kept our word, but we are trying to be more efficient,” said Edgar, who campaigned in 1990 on a promise not to raise taxes.
Barring a setback in the current legislative session, where the governor’s proposed $29.2 billion budget got a hostile reception from Democrats last week, having kept faith with his no-tax pledge will be the linchpin of Edgar’s campaign.
“My sense is credibility is the most important criteria for someone who is going to be successful in public office, and I believe at the end of this term we’re going to have a lot of credibility,” Edgar said.
He added: “(Voters) have got to have a sense that the person talking is someone they can believe, and I think that is one of my greatest strengths going into the next election.”
Led by political semanticist Michael Madigan, the Illinois House speaker, Democrats are trying to make a case that Edgar will break his no-tax vow if, as his budget proposes, a temporary income tax surcharge is made permanent.
The logic by Madigan and some pundits is that since the surtax is scheduled by law to expire on June 30, reinstituting it to the current level will be the equivalent of raising taxes.
“I don’t have any problems acknowledging a tax increase for what it is. Edgar does,” said Madigan, a Chicago Democrat. “He ought to say he’s for a tax increase, instead of playing this game where he drafts these documents for posterity that says this is a no-tax increase budget. It is a tax increase.”
Edgar scoffed at Madigan’s logic.
“I’m not a lawyer. Maybe they think different,” he said, referring to Madigan, who is a lawyer. “I pay 3 percent income tax today. If my proposal is adopted, I would still pay 3 percent. Now to me, that’s the bottom line, and I think that’s how most people out there think.
“Now, this is not cutting taxes, and I would agree with that. But I never campaigned that I was going to cut that tax,” Edgar said.
