Jim Edgar, 38th Governor and GOP Statesman, Dies at 79
Gov. Jim Edgar’s official portrait. (Photo: jimedgar.com)
NOTE: This story was originally posted for subscribers only. To receive subscriber-only newsletters and content, click here.
Jim Edgar, the 38th Governor of Illinois, who guided state government through the tumultuous 90’s and left office as one of the most popular governors in state history, died Sunday. He was 79.
“It is with heavy hearts we share the news that our beloved husband, father and grandfather Jim Edgar passed away this morning in Springfield from complications related to treatment for pancreatic cancer,” his family said in a statement released Sunday afternoon. “We are deeply grateful for the love, support and kindness so many have shown to Jim and our family over these last several months.”
Edgar was born in a small town in Oklahoma and raised in Charleston. He was elected to the House in 1976 and tapped as then-Gov. Jim Thompson’s Legislative Director in 1979. Thompson appointed Edgar Secretary of State in 1981, which he won election to in 1982 and 1986. He succeeded Thompson as Governor, winning the office in 1990 and winning re-election in a landslide in 1998.
Upon taking office during a recession in 1991, Edgar built a reputation as a fiscal conservative, cutting spending and rejecting new projects, and often battled with powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Critics often referred to Edgar as “Governor No.”
“His legacy is a legacy of good government,” said Al Grosboll, who served with Edgar in the Secretary of State and Governor’s office, including as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor. “He was a guy who believed in the power of state government. He kept his sight on goals. And the goals were to get the state on stable financial footing again. Because if you weren’t on good stable footing, you couldn’t go out and do the good things that people want to do.”
Edgar was vetted to be then-Sen. Robert Dole’s running mate in 1996, but admitted he “didn’t get far in the process.” Republicans encouraged him to run for U.S. Senate in 1998 and 2004, when then-President George W. Bush personally lobbied him to enter the race. His final curtain call from politics came in 2005, when he flirted with a challenge to then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2006, but passed on the race, endorsing then-Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.
After leaving office, he became an elder-statesman in Republican politics, launching the “Edgar Fellows” program at the University of Illinois, which brings Republican and Democrat leaders together to “influence attitudes and foster mutual understanding.”
“Governor Jim Edgar was a very decent man,” said former Sen. Kirk Dillard, who served as Edgar’s Chief of Staff. “In a world of polarized political times, everyone should step back and take a lesson from Jim Edgar's legacy of compassion, decency, and cooperative collaboration. His passing is a major loss for the Land of Lincoln.”
Although Edgar’s criticisms of former Gov. Bruce Rauner, President Donald Trump, and the direction of the GOP lost him stature in some corners of the Republican Party in recent years, Grosboll said his legacy was one many Republicans still admire.
“His popularity was because he was a very truthful person. The public sees through phonies,” Grosboll said. “He called things the way he saw them. He didn’t mislead or lie to people. And, over time, people began to build trust. And I think they trusted him.”
INTERVIEWS WITH EDGAR
