Illinois Republican Party

Brady drops by Lincoln Day Dinner
3/9/2010

By Gary Childs - Peoria Journal Star

Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady made an impromptu appearance Monday night at the Lincoln Day Dinner at the Hotel Pere Marquette.

After addressing a partisan crowd of about 340 that gathered in the ballroom, the state senator from Bloomington adjourned to a nearby meeting room for a news conference where something was different about the appearance of Brady's introducer.

"That's not news, c'mon," clean-shaven Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis said after the seventh of Brady's eight scheduled campaign stops Monday.

Ardis, who began growing a beard a couple of months ago, elected to cut it off Monday.

"It feels good," Ardis said with a smile. "Other than having to shave again."

Brady survived a close electoral shave in the Republican primary Feb. 2. He officially was declared the winner Friday by the Illinois State Board of Elections, beating state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale by just 193 votes.

"We're so pleased you could fit us in," Brady told the Lincoln Day Dinner audience, where he was joined on the podium by his wife, Nancy, and Republican lieutenant governor nominee Jason Plummer of Edwardsville.

"Because of many of you in here, I won by a whopping 193 votes," Brady said.

Brady and his traveling party originally were scheduled to appear Monday at the Byerly Aviation terminal, but decided the Peoria County Republican event would serve their purpose better.

"It is incumbent upon us to make this state a better place, and I believe the November election of 2010 is our opportunity," said Brady, whose Democratic opponent is Gov. Pat Quinn, a Chicagoan.

"But it's not going to be easy," Brady continued. "A lot of pundits don't believe Republicans can win statewide offices in Illinois. But you and I know we can.

"Just like the states of Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey were challenged, Illinois can rise above it. We can reach out to independents and Democrats, through the Republican Party, and build the strongest groundswell of support with principles, values and economic development."

Brady made similar claims at the news conference before lightening up for a moment.

"Our statewide ticket is not only broad-based in terms of geography, but also in terms of ancestry and background, unlike the Democrats' ticket," Brady said.

"I am a little bit envious of my lieutenant governor," Brady went on. "Today, he's the only one on the ticket that doesn't have competition."

The punch line was directed at Scott Lee Cohen, the Chicago pawnbroker who withdrew from the lieutenant governor race five days after winning the Democratic nomination.

SOURCE: Peoria Journal Star

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