Kelleher announces bid for lieutenant governor

By BERNARD SCHOENBURG
POLITICAL WRITER

Mike Kelleher, a Democrat from Normal who lost a race for the U.S. House in November, announced his candidacy Wednesday for lieutenant governor, saying he wants to "sweep our state government clean" of scandals under GOP leadership.

He also said he wants to lower class size in schools and improve health-care programs.

"It appears that the GOP's long-time control of the governor's mansion and other state offices has created a culture of political arrogance and ethical indifference," he said at a Statehouse news conference.

"I want to help our next Democratic governor ... take on the challenge of turning 26 years of insider Republican games and backroom deals into a better future for working people all over the state. Let's face it, anyone who reads the newspaper knows there's a cloud of corruption and abuse hanging over our state today because of the George Ryan scandal."

While Gov. Ryan has not been charged with a crime, Kelleher said, the bribes-for-licenses scandal that occurred largely on Ryan's watch as secretary of state helped put money in his campaign account. It also fed the stereotype, Kelleher said, that "government in the Land of Lincoln is up for sale and that our state's elected officials put political and personal profit ahead of public service."

Kelleher also said other leading Republicans, including Attorney General Jim Ryan, "can't be let off the hook."

"As our state's top legal officer, Jim Ryan sat on the sidelines while one of the largest public corruption scandals in our state unfolded," Kelleher said.

Kelleher got nearly 47 percent of the vote last year in a race for the congressional seat left open by the retirement of former U.S. Rep. Tom Ewing, R-Pontiac. The election was won by former state Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana.

Kelleher said he had planned to run against Johnson again, but the new congressional map placed him a half-block outside the district in which Johnson is expected to run in 2002. Kelleher said his base of support was also split, so it appears he could neither defeat Johnson nor the incumbent in the new district where his home was placed - Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris.

Kelleher said his chances are better in a statewide race, and he thinks his contest with Johnson showed "I can reach out to moderate Republican voters, independent voters and Democrats and build a coalition." He noted that he won McLean County, his home county and a strong GOP area.

He said he has contacted Democrats who may be running for governor, but he is not linking his campaign to any of theirs. In the primary, the governor and lieutenant governor candidates are nominated separately.

Another Democrat, Knox County State's Attorney Paul Mangieri, has also announced he is running for lieutenant governor. The primary is in March.

In response to Kelleher's criticisms of Gov. Ryan, his press secretary, Dennis Culloton, said, "It sounds like the guy's looking for a new platform after losing his previous race for an open congressional seat."

And Dan Curry, spokesman for the attorney general, said, "Attorney General Jim Ryan has always aggressively pursued public corruption," but that the bribes-for-licenses investigation has been conducted by the U.S. attorney's office, and "it would have been improper to conduct a parallel investigation."

Kelleher, 39, is a Pontiac native with a political science degree from Illinois State University and a master's degree in international development from the American University in Washington, D.C. He worked for the Peace Corps as a volunteer for three years in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He also worked for three years as a Senate and House congressional aide.

He said that as he campaigns, he is working part time at ISU, where he teaches American government and economic development. He is director of ISU's unit for community and economic development, a graduate program that often places students in needy communities.

In 1994, Kelleher was press secretary for the late state Sen. Penny Severns of Decatur, who was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor that year.

Kelleher and his wife, Karin, have two daughters and expect their third child in October.

Bernard Schoenburg can be reached at 788-1540 or bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com.
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