Election Shocker: Rockford, Ill., Paper Endorses Green Party Candidate for Governor

By: Mark Fitzgerald For 42 years until 2002, the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star endorsed a Republican for governor. This year, it did not endorse the GOP candidate, Judy Baar Topinka. But it didn?t endorse Democratic incumbent Gov. Rod Blagojevich for a second time, either.

Instead, it shocked -- and pleased -- many readers by endorsing the little-known Green Party candidate, Rich Whitney.

?It?s actually been going over pretty well,? Register Star Editorial Page Editor Wally Haas said Friday. All the phone calls, but one, have praised the paper for picking the third-party choice, he said.

?Some of the comments we?ve gotten: ?You said what needed to be said,? ?Bravo,? ?It took courage to make that endorsement,? he said.

Haas suggested, though, it was not so much courage, but revulsion at the gubernatorial choices that prompted the Register Star to back the Green Party candidate.

?The status quo, especially in Illinois, has not worked,? Haas said. ?Illinois politics is just sort of a cesspool of corruption. Both parties haven?t done anything about it, so it?s about time to give someone else a chance.?

There?s plenty of evidence that Illinois voters are dissatisfied with their gubernatorial ballot choices, too. A Chicago Tribune poll published Oct. 15 showed that 51% of respondents were dissatisfied with the election choice. In the latest survey by the Tribune, Blagojevich led with 44%, Topinka was supported by 29%, and Green Party candidate Whitney was at 13% -- unusually high for a third-party candidate.

Haas said when the eight-person editorial board met to decide whom to endorse, the choice was clear immediately. In a show of hands, two voted for Topinka, two chose Blagojevich, and five voted for Whitney.

That included the four board members who interviewed all three candidates, Haas said.

In the editorial, the Register Star dismissed both major party candidates:

?The blue party candidate, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has danced as fast as he can on the campaign trail in a vain attempt to stay ahead of allegations of personal corruption and fiscal irresponsibility.

?The red party's pick, Republican state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, has conducted a negative and unfocused campaign that doesn't inspire confidence she could lead the state. Her main qualification is having a lower indictment potential than the incumbent.?

But the editorial stressed that its pick of the Green Party was not a protest vote.

?We believe Whitney, a 51-year-old attorney from Carbondale, could clean up state government while leading Illinois toward school finance reform, job growth, environmental responsibility and social justice,? the editorial said.

It added that a significant vote for the Green Party would mean that it would not have to meet the very high standards third parties that do not achieve a 5% level in the previous election must meet to get on the ballot.