State Journal-Register: Green Party files candidates: Governor nominee hopes to 'pull off a Jesse Ventura'

Article in the State Journal-Register by Adriana Colindres on June 27, 2006

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 major-party candidates for Minnesota governor.

Whitney, a 51-year-old Carbondale attorney, heads the Illinois Green Party's first 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, he 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 Green Party represents a "fresh and clean alternative" to the Democratic and Republican parties, he said.

"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 of Chicago 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."

Whitney said he supports a legislative proposal that would raise the state income tax while abating property taxes. That plan, which was introduced in February 2005 but never has come up for a vote, would generate revenue to help schools and to "adequately support" social services and workers' pensions, he said.

He also backs a statewide, universal health-care program that would be funded by a "modest payroll tax" on taxpayers.

Whitney said Green Party members refuse to accept corporate campaign contributions, and that he and his fellow candidates hope to raise campaign funds by collecting many small, individual donations.

Whitney has prior experience as a Green Party political candidate. He ran in 2002 and 2004 for a state representative seat in southern Illinois, losing both times to Republican Mike Bost of Carbondale.

Also filing with the State Board of Elections on Monday were statewide slates of candidates for the Independence Party of Illinois and the Constitution Party of Illinois.

A cursory check of the Independence Party's nominating petitions Monday afternoon revealed a total of 127 signatures, far short of the required number of 25,000.

The names of the Green Party candidates listed on the petitions could be removed from the Nov. 7 general election ballot if someone successfully challenges the validity of the petitions.

The Constitution Party filed nominating papers with the State Board just before the 5 p.m. deadline, and it was not immediately clear whether they appeared to meet the signature requirement.