February 07, 2010
Pawnbroker says he's dropping out of race
| UPDATE 7:21 p.m. Madigan spokesman says replacement talks soon
Scott Lee Cohen, the pawnbroker whose surprise victory in last week's Democratic lieutenant governor primary was followed by scandalous revelations about him, quit the race tonight at the urging of party leaders.
Cohen made the tearful announcement at the Hop Haus tavern on the Far North Side.
"For the good of the people …I will resign,” he said, adding: “The last thing I ever, ever wanted to do was to put the people of Illinois in jeopardy in any way.”
Cohen's candidacy was widely perceived as a potential disaster for Gov. Pat Quinn and the rest of the Democratic ticket in the November general election.
Steve Brown, a spokesman for Michael Madigan, the Democatic party chairman and Illinois House speaker, said work would begin soon on picking a replacement.
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http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/02/speaker-madigan-met-with-cohen-urged-him-to-quit-.html---------------------
Notice it's at a TAVERN, but you know what? I am SO unbelievably delighted right now.... WOW!!!!!
Shortly before this story came out, this was posted by the Trib reporter:
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"Posted by Rick Pearson at 5;50 p.m.
Attempting to rebut criticism that the Illinois Democratic Party should have done more to prevent Scott Lee Cohen’s nomination for lieutenant governor, powerful House speaker and Democratic chairman Michael Madigan met with Cohen on Friday and urged him in a “very direct and very frank” way to drop his candidacy, a top Madigan aide said today.
Steve Brown, a spokesman for Madigan, said he was unable to characterize Cohen’s response to Madigan during the meeting in Madigan’s Chicago law office. He said the meeting had previously been kept under wraps to avoid the appearance of backing Cohen into a corner.
But Brown said he believed the meeting should be publicized after Madigan has become the subject of criticism for failing to do background checks on the candidates for lieutenant governor, including Cohen.
Cohen's surprise win over five rivals in Tuesday's Democratic primary vaulted him into the media spotlight because of his career as a Chicago pawnbroker and his 2005 arrest in a domestic battery case. A deeper examination of public records revealed that Cohen's ex-girlfriend, a prostitute, had accused him of holding a knife to her throat. The charge was later dismissed.
Other public records and interviews show a history of abuse allegations by his wife, tax problems and unpaid bills.
Brown said candidates do receive some form of vetting when the Democratic Party decides to slate, or endorse, candidates in the primary. But Democrats opted not to slate a candidate for lieutenant governor when none of the contenders was going to receive 60 percent of the weighted vote of the party’s leadership, the Democratic State Central Committee, Brown said.
The lieutenant governor field was dominated by Democratic members of the legislature, making slating difficult. State Rep. Art Turner of Chicago, a member of Madigan's leadership team, was endorsed by the speaker. Others in the race were state Rep. Mike Boland of East Moline and state Sens. Terry Link of Waukegan and Rickey Hendon of Chicago. Thomas Castillo of Elmhurst also was a candidate.
During a face-to-face meeting with Cohen, Madigan was “very direct and very frank with the man” about getting out of the race, Brown said.
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