Jim Edgar

Jim Edgar
Edgar in 1993
38th Governor of Illinois
In office
January 14, 1991 – January 11, 1999
LieutenantBob Kustra (1991–1998)
Vacant (1998–1999)
Preceded byJim Thompson
Succeeded byGeorge Ryan
35th Secretary of State of Illinois
In office
January 5, 1981 – January 14, 1991
GovernorJim Thompson
Preceded byAlan J. Dixon
Succeeded byGeorge Ryan
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 53rd district
In office
January 12, 1977 – March 8, 1979
Serving with Chuck Campbell and Larry Stuffle
Preceded byMax Coffey
Bob Craig
Succeeded byHarry Woodyard
Personal details
Born (1946-07-22) July 22, 1946 (age 78)
Vinita, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseBrenda Smith
Children2
EducationEastern Illinois University (BA)
WebsiteJim Edgar

James Robert Edgar (born July 22, 1946)[1][2] is an American politician who served as the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999.[3] A moderate Republican, he previously served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1977 to 1979 and as the 35th Secretary of State of Illinois from 1981 to 1991.[4]

Edgar was born in Vinita, Oklahoma and raised in Charleston, a city in Central Illinois. Beginning his political career as a legislative aide, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1976 and reelected in 1978. In 1979, while still in his second term, Edgar would be appointed as the director of legislative affairs for Illinois Governor Jim Thompson.

Following Secretary of State Alan J. Dixon's election to the U.S. Senate in 1980, Thompson appointed Edgar to serve the remainder of Dixon's term. Edgar would go on to win a full term in 1982 and was reelected by a significant margin in 1986 in a race complicated by a LaRouchian candidate on the Democratic ticket.

Edgar ran successfully for Governor of Illinois in the competitive 1990 election, narrowly defeating incumbent Attorney General Neil Hartigan. During of the Republican Revolution of '94, he won reelection in a landslide over the Democratic Illinois Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch—winning 101 of the state's 102 counties. He declined to run for a third term in 1998 and subsequently retired from public office.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Tribune, Chicago (October 16, 1994). "TWO OF A KIND". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "Illinois Governor Jim Edgar". Governor's Information. National Governors Association. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 26, 2007.
  4. ^ Howard, Robert (1999). Mostly Good and Competent Men (2nd ed.). University of Illinois at Springfield, Center for State Policy and Leadership. pp. 332–333. ISBN 978-0938943150.

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