Jesse White Running Again: Illinois Secretary Of State Aims For A Fifth Term

Jesse White Already Has Plans For 80th Birthday In 2014

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced Wednesday at the Illinois State Fair that he is planning to run for re-election in 2014, despite previous indications that his current, fourth term would be his last.

White, 77, will be 80 years old at the time of a 2014 re-election campaign, which will arrive just on the heels of his becoming Illinois' longest-serving secretary of state ever, at of the end of his current term, the Chicago Tribune reports.

"When 2014 arrives, my name will be on the ballot," White said, according to the Tribune. "I hope you will show me some love again."

White, who was first elected to his current post in 1998, was later referred to as "our secretary of state forever" by Governor Pat Quinn, according to the State Journal-Register.

Though White has generally enjoyed a great deal of popularity during his tenure in his current position, he did receive some flak last month when a Crain's Chicago Business/Better Government Association investigation revealed that a number of his office's executive staffers received raises of more than 6 percent over the course of the most recent year of available salary data. This, at a time where many state employees are facing wage freezes, mandatory furlough days and layoffs.

White's office claimed the raises were paid for by cuts made elsewhere, including reduced spending on out-of-town travel and cell phones.

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