Former Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka and former Gov. Jim Edgar after an Illinois Business Immigration Coalition event on April 22, 2014, at the Chicago Club.| Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune
By Rick Pearson and Ray Long | Chicago Tribune
Jim Edgar, the two-term Republican governor who guided Illinois through much of the 1990s with a low-key yet intense persona and a meticulous focus on fiscal matters aimed at preparing the state for the 21st century, died Sunday. He was 79.
Edgar died in Springfield, where he had been hospitalized due to an adverse reaction to treatment for the pancreatic cancer that he had been diagnosed with in January friends and associates said.
“It is with heavy hearts we share the news that our beloved husband, father and grandfather Jim Edgar passed away this morning in Springfield from complications related to treatment for pancreatic cancer,” family members said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for the love, support and kindness so many have shown to Jim and our family over these last several months.”
Arguably one of the most popular governors in the state’s history, Edgar — who was born in the small town of Vinita, Oklahoma, but raised in Charleston, Illinois — provided stable governance through his reserved tone. It was a sharp contrast to his immediate predecessor, James R. Thompson, a Republican who was a constant campaigner and served a record 14 years with a grandiose, free-wheeling personality bent toward spending, building and dealmaking.
After leaving office in 1999, Edgar kept his word that his formal political career was over. He became a senior fellow at the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs and declined efforts by fellow Republicans to be drafted as the state party chairman, make another run for governor and, twice, to run for U.S. Senate.
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