Chicago (AP)-the former Illinois governor Jim Edgar, a popular Republican who led the state at a time with greater financial stability in the 1990s, died on Sunday, according to his family. He was 79.
Edgar died of complications in connection with his treatment for pancreatic cancer, his family said in a statement. He publicly announced his cancer diagnosis at the beginning of this year.
“We are deeply grateful for the love, support and friendliness that Jim and our family have shown so many in the past few months,” says the explanation.
Edgar, a former State Secretary of Illinois, who had been a decade for a decade, was elected governor in 1990. The moderate Republican easily won the re -election, including the strongly democratic Cook County in which Chicago is located.
He remained a party state man and consultant and became the right about the shift in the Republican Party. Edgar was one of the top -class Republicans who did not support Donald Trump’s presidency, and made a campaign to support Kamala Harris’ offer for the president last year called “Republican for Harris”.
Edgar was born in Oklahoma in Kleinstadt in Oklahoma and was much more reserved than his conspicuous, charming predecessor James R. Thompson, who was the longest governor in history in history. At the time when Edgar took office, the state was hundreds of millions of dollars owe and paid his bills for months too overdue.
In the middle of a recession, Edgar urged the legislators to reduce the state budget and to do layoffs and cuts of the popular programs. He also managed to fulfill his campaign promise to make a short-lived income tax surcharge permanently and to guarantee a stable source of money for public schools.
“It wasn’t always pretty how it was done, but we did a lot,” Edgar told The Associated Press in 1998.
He surprised many political observers when he announced in 1997 that he would not catch up with a third term in view of his popularity. The Republicans tried to design him to run for an office again, including the offers for the US Senate and again for Illinois governor. But he did not accept.
His stature in the political history of Illinois was further increased after two consecutive successors George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich, time in prison, served because of corruption.
Edgar taught and served as an emeritus president of Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation.
“After every standard, he was a Republican whose integrity led his term and who led one of the most successful periods in the government of the state of Illinois,” said Bob Kustra, who acted as governor of Edgar in a statement.
The former governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, praised Edgar’s politics, including education.
“Governor Jim Edgar was a good and decent man who took care of the people in Illinois,” said Quinn in a statement.
JB Pritzker, Governor Illinois, said on Sunday that the flags in the state would fly to Edgar in honor of halves.
“Now we should channel this spirit more than ever and to live how governor Edgar: honestly integrity and a permanent respect for everyone,” said Pritzker, Democrat, in a statement. “He will continue to live in the incalculable number of lives that he touched, and in the stronger institutions that he built up.”
Edgar is survived by his wife and two children.
His relatives said details about funeral plans would follow in the coming days.
