Jim Edgar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim Edgar
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Official portrait, 1989
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| 38th Governor of Illinois | |
| In office January 14, 1991 – January 11, 1999 |
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| Lieutenant | Bob Kustra (1991–1998) Vacant (1998–1999) |
| Preceded by | Jim Thompson |
| Succeeded by | George Ryan |
| 35th Secretary of State of Illinois | |
| In office January 5, 1981 – January 14, 1991 |
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| Governor | Jim Thompson |
| Preceded by | Alan J. Dixon |
| Succeeded by | George Ryan |
| Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 53rd district |
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| In office January 12, 1977 – March 8, 1979 Serving with Chuck Campbell and Larry Stuffle
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| Preceded by | Max Coffey Bob Craig |
| Succeeded by | Harry Woodyard |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Robert Edgar
July 22, 1946 Vinita, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Brenda Smith |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Eastern Illinois University (BA) |
| Website | Jim Edgar |
James Robert Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician. He served as the 38th Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. Before becoming governor, he was the 35th Secretary of State of Illinois from 1981 to 1991. He also served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1977 to 1979.
Edgar was born in Vinita, Oklahoma, and grew up in Charleston, Illinois. He started his political career helping lawmakers. In 1976, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. Later, in 1979, he became a special assistant to Illinois Governor Jim Thompson.
In 1981, Governor Thompson chose Edgar to become the Secretary of State. Edgar won elections for this job in 1982 and 1986. He then ran for Governor of Illinois in 1990 and won. He was re-elected in 1994 by a large number of votes. Edgar decided not to run for a third term in 1998 and left public office.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jim Edgar was born in Vinita, Oklahoma, in 1946. He grew up in Charleston, Illinois. His parents were members of the Democratic Party. Jim became interested in politics at a young age.
When Jim was seven years old, his father passed away in a car accident.
He went to Eastern Illinois University. In 1968, he earned a degree in history. While there, he was also the student body president.
After college, Edgar worked as an intern for a Republican leader in the Illinois Senate. He also worked for the Speaker of the Illinois House.
Early Political Career
Working in the Illinois General Assembly
After college, Edgar worked as an intern and assistant for W. Russell Arrington. Arrington was a Republican leader in the Illinois Senate. Edgar looked up to Arrington as a role model.
Edgar also worked for W. Robert Blair, who was the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.
Serving in the Illinois House of Representatives
In 1974, Edgar tried to become a state representative but did not win. He then worked as a salesperson for a short time.
He ran for the same position again in 1976 and won. He was elected again in 1978.
As a state representative, Edgar worked on important committees. These included committees for money, human resources, and taxes. He was often seen as a key vote because of his balanced views.
In 1979, Edgar left his job in the House. He accepted an offer from Governor Jim Thompson. He became the governor's helper for legislative matters. Edgar hoped this would lead to a bigger political role later.
Illinois Secretary of State
In January 1981, Governor Thompson chose Jim Edgar to be the Illinois Secretary of State. This job became open when the previous Secretary, Alan Dixon, was elected to the United States Senate. Edgar won re-election for this job in 1982 and 1986. His 1986 victory was one of the largest in Illinois history at the time.
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When Edgar became Secretary of State, he kept many of the employees who worked for the previous leader. He believed that good government was the best way to do politics. He said he would not fire employees if they did their jobs well, no matter their political party.
During his second term, Edgar helped pass a law requiring car insurance for all drivers in Illinois. He also worked to build a new Illinois State Library. His support for libraries earned him the nickname "The Reader."
Running for Governor in 1990
On August 8, 1989, Edgar announced he would run for Governor of Illinois. The current governor, Jim Thompson, decided not to run again. Edgar was the top choice for the Republican Party. He won the Republican nomination with about 63% of the votes.
In the main election, Edgar ran against Neil Hartigan, a Democrat. Hartigan was the state's Attorney General. Hartigan did not want to make a temporary income tax increase permanent. He said Edgar was a "tax-and-spend" politician.
Edgar, however, focused on being responsible with the state's money. He also talked about being a steady leader. He said Hartigan changed his mind too often on important issues. At one event, Edgar even held up a waffle to make a joke about Hartigan changing his views.
Many people in Illinois wanted a change in leadership after Governor Thompson's four terms. This made the election difficult for Edgar. For a while, Edgar thought he might lose. But he won the election by a small number of votes.
Edgar's victory was surprising because many other Republicans lost statewide elections that year. People said Edgar won because he presented himself as a candidate for change. His campaign also worked hard to get people to vote. He also appealed to groups who usually voted for Democrats.
For example, Edgar's stance on the income tax helped him with some Black voters in Chicago. He also got support from prominent Black leaders. Edgar also did better than other Republicans with Latino voters in Chicago. Many of them knew him from his library and literacy programs as Secretary of State. These new supporters helped Edgar win the election.
Governor of Illinois
First Term (1991–1995)
On January 14, 1991, Jim Edgar became Governor of Illinois. He promised to be careful with the state's money. His team learned that the state had a huge budget problem, almost a billion dollars. This was the largest budget problem in Illinois history at that time. A few weeks later, the state's money problems got even worse due to an economic slowdown.
To fix the state's money issues, Edgar suggested a budget with no new taxes. He wanted to cut state spending by millions of dollars. However, he did suggest a small increase for education. This budget led to a long disagreement with the Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly. After months of talks, Edgar and House Speaker Mike Madigan reached an agreement. They agreed to most of Edgar's spending cuts. They also made the temporary income tax increase permanent. The state's money problems were a big focus during Edgar's first term.
Edgar also worked to improve the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. This department helps children in need. Edgar changed the department's focus to put the children's best interests first. He also made rules stricter for private groups that cared for children.
In 1993, Edgar declared several counties disaster areas because of severe flooding. This was during the Great Flood of 1993, one of the worst natural disasters in Illinois history. Edgar sent over 7,000 members of the Illinois National Guard to help. He also organized hundreds of inmates to help with sandbagging and strengthening levees. Edgar even helped with sandbagging himself.
The "Edgar Ramp"
In 1994, Governor Edgar signed a law to help fix the state's pension crisis. Pensions are money paid to people after they retire from their jobs. Before 1981, Illinois paid pensions as they were due. But this changed because of money problems. By 1995, the state had not put enough money into the pension system.
The new law, called Public Act 88-593, was a plan to put more money into pensions over many years. It set a schedule to increase the state's payments each year. The first 15 years had lower payments that slowly increased, which is why it was called the "Edgar ramp." This law was seen as a success at the time. However, the state's pension problems continued even after this plan.
1994 Illinois Gubernatorial Election
In 1994, Edgar easily won re-election for governor. He defeated the Democratic candidate, Dawn Clark Netsch, by a large number of votes. He won in 101 out of the state's 102 counties. This included Cook County, which usually votes for Democrats.
Second Term (1995–1999)
During his second term, there were questions about a company that gave money to Edgar's campaign. This company, MSI, received a state contract. Some people believed the contract cost the state too much money. Edgar was never accused of doing anything wrong. He spoke in court twice to explain that political donations did not affect who received state contracts.
On August 20, 1997, Edgar announced he would retire from politics. He decided not to run for a third term as governor. He also chose not to run for the U.S. Senate.
Edgar supported George Ryan to become the next governor. Ryan was elected governor in 1998.
Post-Governorship
After being governor, Jim Edgar became a special fellow at the Institute of Government & Public Affairs. This is part of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
In 1999, he was chosen as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Edgar was also the honorary chairman for the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration. This event celebrated President Reagan's 100th birthday at Eureka College. Edgar gave a speech at the event in 2011. He also helped open the Mark R. Shenkman Reagan Research Center at the college.
He was also the chairman of the board for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation. He helped start the "Lincoln Bowl" tradition in 2012. This is a football game between Knox College and Eureka College. The winner gets a special trophy.
In 2016, a company Edgar worked for, Illinois Financing Partners, was approved to help state vendors. This company would give money to vendors who were waiting for payments from the state. The company would then keep late payment fees when the state finally paid.
In 1999, Edgar received the Order of Lincoln. This is the highest honor given by the Governor of Illinois. He received it for his work in government.
He is also a visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University.
Political Views
In 2008, Edgar supported Republican Senator John McCain for President. He also supported Mitt Romney in 2012.
In 2016, when Donald Trump became the Republican nominee, Edgar said he would not vote for him. In 2020, Edgar and other moderate Republicans from Illinois supported Joe Biden. Edgar said he was "very disappointed" with the chaos and division during the previous four years. He also said the president "bungled the virus" and should try to bring people together.
In 2016, Edgar said that Governor Bruce Rauner should sign the Democratic budget. He also supported the Democratic pension plan. Edgar had pushed for a pension bill in 1994 to save money. He said at the time that the bill would "defuse" a "time bomb" in the retirement system.
Personal Life
Jim Edgar is married to Brenda Smith Edgar. They have two children, Brad and Elizabeth.
Edgar is a Baptist.
In 1994, Edgar had heart surgery. In 1998, he was hospitalized again for chest pains.
