By Christy Gutowski | Daily Herald Staff | Published: 6/18/2008 12:07
Buzz up!DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett is poised to make a third attempt for statewide office in two years.
Birkett, who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general and lieutenant governor, told the Daily Herald he is exploring a possible run in 2010 for attorney general or governor.
The 53-year-old Wheaton man may be one of Illinois’ best-known Republicans and widely respected, but the political climate could be his biggest challenge.
“It’s going to be tough for any Republican in 2010, especially if there is a President Obama in the White House,” said Paul Green, director of Roosevelt University’s School of Policy Studies. “So, I would think the best thing he can do is get out there early, pick his spots and start raising money like mad.”
Birkett isn’t expected to make a final decision for several months, but he has hired a political consulting firm, lined up fundraising events that begin next week, and is already touring the state to deliver his message of tough-on-crime and economic reform to potential voters.
“The level of corruption and fiscal mismanagement has never been higher in Illinois,” Birkett said. “It’s going to take leadership to restore the sanity, responsibility and integrity to our government.”
A worthy opponent?
Birkett, running unopposed in November for his fourth 4-year term as state’s attorney, is one of Illinois’ best-recognized prosecutors after a nearly 30-year career.
But he hasn’t had success at statewide office.
In 2002, in his first attempt, he lost to Democrat Lisa Madigan in the most expensive race for attorney general in Illinois history. She defeated Birkett by about 2.5 percentage points. He won 87 of Illinois’ 102 counties. But Madigan, who outspent him 3 to 1, trounced Birkett in Chicago.
In the process, Birkett gained name recognition outside DuPage County but was saddled with more than $700,000 in debt. He wiped that out in the November 2006 election, when he unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor on the GOP slate with gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka.
One Democratic strategist argues Birkett’s conservative views will hurt him.
“He’s a worthy opponent, but someone with more moderate views is going to make Democrats more nervous,” said political consultant Kevin Lampe. “Republicans who do well in this state are moderates. He’s got to reach out more and really take a look at whether his views are in line with mainstream Illinois’ views.”
Despite that perception, Birkett doesn’t have the classic Republican pedigree. He grew up in the poor Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. At 13, he lost his father in a boating accident and watched his mother struggle to raise nine kids.
The staunch Roman Catholic is pro-death penalty, but he has pioneered many reforms to overhaul the system.
He has managed to get about 120 tough-on-crime bills passed into law in the mostly Democrat-controlled state legislature. His mother was a Democrat, his father a Republican. Three of his brothers are in the trades, including a carpenter and electrician, professions that usually favor Democrats.
Birkett is generally anti-abortion, but he supports it in cases of rape.
To help him get his message out, he has hired the political consulting firm Reverse Spin, co-headed by Dan Curry, who was part of the successful campaigns for two other men not known as particularly middle-of-the-road Republicans: former U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald and former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan.
“I don’t think people are craving for any particular type of ideology,” Curry said. “They’re craving for honest and effective leadership.”
Birkett, for his part, borrows from a Ronald Reagan adage.
“I don’t expect people to agree with me 100 percent of the time,” he said. “But if you agree with me on most of the issues, then vote for me. I think that’s the type of candidate that people in Illinois want and deserve.”
A long road to 2010
Birkett was considering his own run for governor in 2004 and was touring the state trying to line up support. Still in debt, though, he joined Topinka, at the urging of one of his mentors, former Gov. Jim Edgar.
It was then he began publicly lambasting Gov. Rod Blagojevich for so-called pay-to-play politics. The prosecutor hasn’t changed his tune, especially as the problems dogging the governor deepen with the recent corruption conviction of fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko.
Birkett said he hopes to present himself as a credible alternative. But his own party is still reeling from the corruption scandal that led to the conviction of former Gov. George Ryan and others.
Birkett’s plan is to start reaching out to Chicago and suburban Cook County, including the Northwest suburbs, which are turning increasingly blue after decades as rock-solid Republican.
Others say Birkett must broaden his appeal beyond the suburbs.
“I don’t see how a Republican can win without making a sincere outreach to minority communities,” said Mike Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University and a former Edgar aide. “The demographics in the state are changing and the Republicans are now much weaker.”
Similar to other statewide hopefuls, Birkett is waiting to see what office Madigan, the popular attorney general, will next seek. Birkett said he isn’t ruling anything out, but it isn’t likely he’ll run against Madigan again. He disagrees with those such as Green and Lampe who argue the GOP lacks much talent on its bench.
In fact, he said he thinks this party will surprise voters in 2010 — in spite of the Obama factor.
“There are a lot of good, solid Republicans with strong records of service,” Birkett said. “We have to put forth a slate of candidates in 2010 that are going to excite the base and who will run hard. We need candidates who have the ability to bring people together, not divide them, and that’s what I’m known for.”
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