A third Democrat is wading into the race for governor.
Oak Park trial lawyer Ed Scanlan took his first plunge into electoral politics Thursday with a vow to oppose higher income taxes and focus on ethics and campaign finance reform as he challenges Gov. Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes for the Democratic nomination.
"Do I have all the answers as I sit here right now? Obviously not," Scanlan said at a Chicago press conference announcing his bid.
Scanlan acknowledged that the state is hurting for revenue and floated a state pension overhaul and borrowing money as possible fixes. Both Quinn and Hynes have proposed different forms of tax hikes as ways to address the state's budget shortfall.
The Chicago native said he's running mostly out of disgust with the state's Democratic party.
"As Albert Einstein said, 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,'" Scanlan said on his campaign web site. "When I realized my party was about to send the same folks from with [sic] the same ideas to do the same things in Springfield again, I knew I had to step up and try to force a change."
Scanlan, who turns 60 next week, grew up on the South Side and graduated from Notre Dame. According to his campaign materials, he drove a taxi to pay his way through law school at DePaul and spent the next 32 years battling corporate lawyers on medical malpractice cases.
In a video statement, Scanlan said he never considered public office before this year. He credits the impeachment and indictment of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich for sparking his interest.
As Capitol Fax's Rich Miller points out, Scanlan's decision appears to have surprised even his own son, who wrote on his blog that his father called to break the news just two weeks ago.
"Eddie, do you have a few minutes to talk?" he said.
"Of course dad, what's up," I replied.
"I'm running for governor," he said to me, as if he was saying he had an extra ticket for the Notre Dame game.
Scanlan said he plans to focus on reforming pensions and campaign finance. He told the Tribune's Rick Pearson that he was unsure how much of his own money he will spend on the race.