Jim Edgar embodied the 'civility, compromise and compassion' he preached

Jim Edgar ran a brilliant campaign for governor in 1990. He set the template for every winning statewide race since then by focusing on the importance of independent suburban women.

The Republican Edgar defeated a Catholic Democrat — Neil Hartigan — in that race, with a boost from the National Abortion Rights Action League’s endorsement. That endorsement most definitely helped him with suburban women, who were just starting to lean Democratic.

Every successful high-profile statewide candidate since then has focused on winning the votes of suburban women. No major statewide candidate has won without them. Edgar broke the code. And 35 years later, his approach still works.

Edgar also realized property taxes were a much more important issue than the income tax in the suburbs and everywhere else. Hartigan campaigned on a pledge to repeal a temporary state income tax surcharge for education and local government. Edgar said he’d keep the surcharge in place and tackle property tax increases instead, understanding those property taxes were more important to voters than a half point on the income tax.

The Illinois Education Association, which represented (and still does) lots of suburban and Downstate teachers, endorsed him over the Democrat Hartigan. After he was elected, Edgar forced an overtime session that eventually produced a cap on suburban property tax increases.

Statehouse denizens often referred to Edgar as "Governor No" back in the day.

Edgar had succeeded Gov. Jim Thompson, who tried for 14 years to be everything to everyone. Edgar inherited a ballooning budget deficit and after he was elected insisted the state had to live within its means.

That insistence meant repeated clashes with lefty activists, many of whom loudly pounded on the Illinois House doors in protest during an Edgar budget address announcing his proposed Medicaid cuts. At the time, Medicaid costs were rising far faster than state revenues, and Edgar insisted something had to be done.

"Governor No" was often better at blocking things than passing things, as evidenced by his eventual abandonment of an election-year push in 1994 for an assault weapons ban.

But he remained popular among the electorate, and he hammered his '94 Democratic opponent Dawn Clark Netsch’s campaign pledge to increase income taxes to reduce property taxes, cruising to a 30-point victory.

Edgar had actually favored a tax swap plan since the 1970s, and he introduced his own variation on the Netsch plan after he was reelected.

But because of the 1994 national Republican landslide and a Republican-drawn legislative map, the Republicans held the majority in both legislative chambers, and his proposal went down in flames. (He said at the time he had polling that showed his plan was popular, but when I pressed him for his numbers, he said I made more money than he did so I should do my own poll.)

He put the state on a path to pay down its pension debt, agreeing to a plan that didn’t kick in with higher payments until long after he would be gone from office.

But Edgar realized that something was better than nothing, and even though the plan was flawed and the state is still struggling all these years later to pay down its pension debt, Illinois has mostly remained on track.

Edgar increased K-12 education and higher education funding; implemented an "instant" background check on gun buyers; and left the state with a $1.2 billion budget surplus (almost $3 billion in today’s dollars). That surplus was almost immediately spent when his successor George Ryan took office and was eventually restored under the current governor.

Since leaving office, Edgar has focused on promoting bipartisanship and leadership building with his tremendously successful Edgar Fellows program, which trains new politicians (mainly legislators) to govern and work with others.

Edgar spoke out frequently against the rightward drift of his beloved Republican Party, eventually parting ways with the GOP because of Donald Trump. In a speech last May, he also stressed what he called "the three C’s."

"Civility, compromise and perhaps most important, particularly today, is compassion.”

By then, Edgar had acknowledged he’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. "I look forward to seeing you next year," he told his audience in May, "And I look forward to being seen next year."

Jim Edgar passed away this month. I think Darren Bailey (yes, Darren Bailey) probably said it best after Edgar’s death was announced: "He was a man of integrity and strong moral character who dedicated his career to public service. His contributions to Illinois will not be forgotten."

I couldn’t agree more.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.