Peoria Journal Star: Illinois Green Party hopes to 'pull off a Jesse Ventura'

Article in the Peoria Journal Star by Copley News Servive on June 27, 2006

SPRINGFIELD - Rich Whitney, the Illinois Green Party's nominee for governor, said Monday he hopes to capitalize on voter dissatisfaction and "pull off a Jesse Ventura" by winning the November general election.

Ventura, a former pro wrestler, stunned political observers in 1998 when, as a Reform Party candidate, he defeated the two major-party candidates for Minnesota governor.

Whitney, a 51-year-old Carbondale attorney, heads the Illinois Green Party's first-ever slate of candidates for statewide elective office. They filed nominating petitions with the State Board of Elections on Monday, the
deadline for "new party" candidates.

The number of submitted signatures is "well in excess" of the 25,000 the party is supposed to have to get on the ballot, Whitney said at a Statehouse news conference.

"We worked our tails off, to be quite blunt about it," Whitney said of the process of collecting signatures. "One of the things we found out is that Illinois voters are clamoring for a better choice on the ballot.

"The people want a third choice. It'll be healthier for our democracy," he added. "I think it is entirely not only possible, but plausible, that we could pull off a Jesse Ventura in this state."

The other Green Party hopefuls are Julie Samuels of Oak Park for lieutenant governor, David Black of Belvidere for attorney general, Karen Peterson of Chicago for secretary of state, Dan Rodriguez Schlorff for treasurer and Alicia Snyder of Centralia for comptroller.

Signatures for the Green Party slate were collected throughout Illinois, Whitney said.

"Yes, we are getting a nice share from college towns like Carbondale and Champaign-Urbana," he said. "But we also got quite a few from Peoria. We play well in Peoria, so to speak."