Bill Edley wants to be the Democratic candidate for the 18th District seat in Congress.
But he wants Dick Versace, the former Bradley University and NBA basketball coach, to drop out, sparing the public a potentially divisive primary that would only work in the Republican’s favor.
“I want a credible candidate to run,” Edley told me in a telephone conversation today. “I’m willing to let someone else run, [if there isn't one] then I would be interested in running. But I have no interest at all in running in a contested primary.”
He’s says also is considering whether or not enough money could be raised. But on a personal level, “I’d like to do it.”
Edley, who served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995, says that the 20-county 18th District is leans heavily towards the GOP. The only way a Democrat can win is to sneak up on them. A primary fight would probably bring too much attention much to issues like gun control and abortion, which the eventual Republican nominee could use to divert attention away from economic issues.
When people vote their prejudices, they are going to get their pockets picked,” Edley said. That’s how politicians operate. Thirty years of this kind of Ronald-Reagan, unfair, laissez-fare, economics has not worked for the majority of the people.”
Because of this, working families must cope with stagnant wages and a lack of health insurance if their employer doesn’t provide it, he said.
“Where would we be today if we hadn’t approved Medicare back in 1965?” Edley asked. “That was supposed to be a down payment for a similar system for everybody.”
Instead, the nation had to pay for fighting the war in Vietnam and then pushed any thought of universal health care aside.
“[What we have now] is unsustainable. But there are very strong interest groups — the insurance companies and some medical groups — who oppose any kind of universal health care.”
When Edley first won election in the very Republican 95th District, his opponent had emerged the victor of a hard-fought primary campaign during which there were lingering resentments among voters that worked to his advantage. He was able to devote his energies toward raising campaign funds and building contacts within the party and with voters.
“The only way to win this is if you sneak up on them … in a ‘Rocky Balboa’ sort of way.”
Right now, there are three people seeking the GOP nomination: State Rep. Aaron Schock, former city council member John Morris and Heartland Partnership CEO Jim McConoughey. Edley believes that the GOP primary would have with even more hurt feelings among party members had Darin LaHood, son of incumbent Ray LaHood, decided to seek that nomination instead of run for Peoria County state’s attorney.
I mentioned to Edley that there seems to be a lot of people who consider Schock the eventual nominee (which is NOT my opinion, by the way).
“He’s 26 years old. He’s a young man in a hurry and they tend to make mistakes. When you go to Congress, you want a higher level of judgment and experience.”
Edley insists he would be happy to remain out of the race is there’s another credible Democratic candidate. He says he would have backed Peoria Judge Richard Grawey had he decided to run. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t consider Dick Versace viable.
“I don’t know too much about him” Edley says. “As Ray LaHood knows, representing 20 rural counties … this is a grueling district. You can easily put 50-70,000 miles on your car just driving that. I don’t think a guy like Versace really understands that.”
My two cents: I think Edley is sending a message to Versace and any pol thinking of backing him. My belief is that while the former coach may have some popularity and name recognition, but his candidacy reminds my of the effort by the GOP to get former Bears coach Mike Ditka to run for the U.S. Senate. Among those whose name has been mentioned as a candidate, Edley is the only one remaining who has any record of public service or experience running for office. Because of the primary battle, lack of an incumbent and the general voter dissatisfaction with the GOP, the 18th District is never going to get any more winnable for a Democrat. Is Dick Versace the guy the Democrats want on the ballot?
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
You’d think the dems could get someone decent to run for this position–so far–doesn’t look like it. It’s going to be a repubican primary race, most likely. Hopefully, hopefully, John Morris will beat Schock. Aaron really shows his immaturity by throwing away the state seat won (with a lot of help) only a few years ago. Morris has experience in Washington, he’s likeable, hardworking, and honest. [Sentence deleted]. Schock should stay put…for now.
“You’d think the dems could get someone decent”
What are you talking about?
Tell me what is wrong with Bill Edley.
He is the best Candidate on either side.
I would put Bill Edley’s record up against Morris and Schock. I hope Versace backs out
then you will see Bill Edley run a campaign.
Never heard of Edley-Dick Versace would beat him in a heartbeat in a primary. If Versace is willing to make the effort, he could win the election against “wonder boy,” he makes sense when he talks and he is likeable and electable.
So he doesn’t want the coach in for competition. That’s news
I don’t think either Edley or Versace has what it takes to beat ANY GOP nominee. Edley will just spin his wheels, and the wheels will simply fall off for a guy like Versace. I truly can’t think of a Democrat in the area that has a shot at winning this district. I think it’s much more interesting to find out what Democrat is going to be after Aaron’s state spot.
I like how Edley is only willing to run if there is no Democratic primary competition. His reasons in my paraphrasing:
1) I don’t want to have to talk about the issues that the voters care about because then I won’t get elected.
2) I’m not that confident I can beat Versace so I don’t want to make the effort in a primary.
3) I want the nomination handed to me on a silver platter then I’ll run when I don’t have to compete for supporters and/or money.
I say, at least the Republicans will have a choice for who they choose to represent them in the election. The Dems only want to run if they don’t have to really compete for it.
Prego Man – I think it’s pretty forgone that Bill Spears will run again for the seat. Unfortunately, he may get it this time (unless another decent and strong Republican candidate comes along) which will be a poor thing for the Peoria area.
im sure versace put a lot more miles on his car when he was out recruiting/building bradley into a powerhokuse..
[...] Pundit weighs in on the Democratic chances of winning in Il-18 (Ray LaHood’s old seat). He interviews Bill Edley on the telephone. […]When people vote their prejudices, they are going to get their pockets picked,†Edley [...]
Bill Edley,
A former investment manager, small business owner, university trustee, three-term Illinois State Representative and senior fiscal officer for a major state agency, Bill Edley combines nearly thirty years of experience in public and private sector financial management as well as extensive experience in coalition-building and outreach. Most recently he served as the Chief of Administration for the Department of Corrections, overseeing all personnel and financial operations for the fifth largest agency in state government. Throughout his career, Bill has consistently been recognized as a leader who can successfully bring people together to identify problems and find solutions, as demonstrated by the various civic awards bestowed upon him as “Legislator of the Year†during his service in the General Assembly.
D.P.: By any objective standard, Edley’s resume outshines any of the announced and planning-to-announce candidates. But then, the voters will decide, and sometimes they aren’t too impressed with resumes as much as real life experiences.
And sometimes they are even more impressed with a last name. Voters are odd.
Peoria Proud: there is a very popular and intelligent young man on the Peoria city council right now who could win the State Representative election if he and his family could be talked into it. I don’t even think Billy Spears would run against him.
Ryan Spain hasn’t even spent one complete summer on the Peoria City Council yet. I like Ryan. He’s smart. He’s not ready.
Billy,
Perhaps RomanII was talking about Bob Manning. While it might be difficult to talk him into it, I think any objective political pundit would say that Bob has developed a strong reputation for dilligence and community outreach. I think GOPers would be doing cartwheels if they could get Bob Manning in this race, and Dems would be cursing under their breath.
D’oh!
Bob Manning is just a few years younger than I, so his name didn’t come to mind when “young man” was used.
But yeah, there’s a ton of respect for Manning. He’s be a good choice to run for state rep.
If you are talking about Ryan Spain, he cannot legally run to succeed Schock. He lives in the Leitch district. The state constitution requires candidates for state rep and state senate to live in the district for two full years before they can run, except in years with a new map from redistricting.
I don’t know how many times this has been pointed out, but Ryan Spain does not live in the 92nd district. I agree he is completely capable of being a state representative he’s also not looking to keep climbing the ladder because a position is open, like some young Peoria politicians.
11Bravo: Welcome back.
You know, the more I look at that photo of Bill Edley, I think his chances would be much better in the Druid District.
From Star Trek: The Original Series
He looks like Kor, the Klingon.
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Kor
(Maybe Bill can post a pic to compare them)
Thanks for nothing, Mouse. Because of your link, I just wasted a half hour of my life reading about Klingons.
Q. What do a roll of toilet paper and the Enterprise have in common?
A. They both go to Uranus and wipe out the Klingons.
Now, back to the regularly scheduled discussion.
It is surprising that there is even this much interest in the district since Lahood usually ran unopposed. I could never understand it when it seems like there is a base of voters who vote D regardless of the candidate. Steve Waterworth spent about $5000 for each run and he got more than 1/3 of the vote even though he announced in a TV interview in the last campaign that he “knew he wasn’t going to win but didn’t want Lahood unopposed.” Imagine what could happen if you put a serious candidate with few more bucks and a little charisma in there.
[...] 2: I recall former State Rep. Bill Edley stating quite clearly he was interested in running, as long as there is no primary battle to suck [...]
[...] thinks Versace’s campaign wobbled at bit at the beginning, but the ideal strategy for the Democrats is to let the Republicans beat each other up in the primary, spending time and [...]