Gov. Pat Quinn’s quest to become the elected leader of Illinois was fulfilled Friday when his Republican challenger conceded the state’s closest governor’s race in decades, leaving Quinn to argue he has a mandate to push a tax increase in the face of one of the nation’s worst state budget problems.
It will be up to Quinn to persuade lawmakers that his election provides him with more political leverage, considering the closeness of the race, said Chris Mooney, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Quinn disagrees.
“I’ve said all along we need revenue for education, in particular, in Illinois, and by winning the election I think that is support for us to do exactly that,” he has said.
Mooney's comments were featured in a November 6, 2010, article by the Associated Press.
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