Chicago's 'mayor for life' decides not to run

Mayor Richard M. Daley dropped the bomb at a routine news conference at City Hall on Tuesday. With no prelude or fanfare, Mr. Daley announced that he would not seek re-election when his term expires next year.

“The Daley legacy is political continuity, economic development and revitalization,” said Kent Redfield, a political scientist from the University of Illinois, Springfield. “Having stability and continuity in local government has been a big plus in terms of developments, and there’s been a strong relationship with big business and big labor. It was certainly also a hallmark of the first Daley administration, being able to bring economic interests together.”

Here in Chicago, the news of Mr. Daley’s imminent departure was greeted with near universal shock. “Oh, my God! We know we knew it would happen someday, but I certainly didn’t wake up thinking it would be today,” Ms. Canary said. “It’s very exciting and a little scary.”

Professor Redfield added, “It is remarkable when you see people walk away from power.”

Redfield's comments were featured in a September 8, 2010, article in the New York Times.

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In Illinois, Race Is Set for Governor

A full month after votes were cast in a primary, the race for governor was at last set in Illinois Friday. The campaign will pit a conservative downstate Republican lawmaker against the sitting Democratic governor, who must overcome a dire state budget gap as well as memories of the ousted Democratic governor Rod R. Blagojevich.

“This may have been the more desirable outcome for Pat Quinn,” said Kent Redfield, a political scientist from the University of Illinois, Springfield.

Redfield's comments were featured in a March 5, 2010, article in the New York Times.

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20100305-NYT-In-Illinois-Race-Governor.pdf

Redfield quoted in NYT article on Gov. Blagojevich

Once viewed by many as a rising political star, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has seen his hopes badly damaged by the corruption trial of his associate Antoin Rezko.

An article in the May 12 New York Times quotes UIS Professor Kent Redfield: "The governor's behavior up to this point suggests he won't go quietly, but it becomes increasingly more difficult for him to be effective and for people to take him seriously. It just seems like daily we get something new that links the governor’s office to something."

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20080512-NYT-CorruptionTaints.pdf