THE NEW GOVERNOR
Patrick Quinn asking voters to back him with prayers
Low-key Quinn facing challenge of a lifetime with ailing state
By Monique Garcia and Rex Huppke | Tribune reporters
January 30, 2009
SPRINGFIELD — Patrick Quinn slipped into the Capitol on Thursday morning barely noticed, a perpetual No. 2 whose very office and three-decade career have at times been political punch lines.
Hours later, the dismissive snickering had been replaced by deferential smiles after Quinn took the oath of office to become Illinois' governor. The throng of well-wishers on the House floor was thick as lawmakers competed to kiss the proverbial ring of a low-profile colleague who'd made an unlikely ascension.
When the new governor introduced himself to the state—drawing comparisons between himself and Gerald Ford, who took over the presidency when Richard Nixon resigned—he asked the public for support as he adjusts to the spotlight's glare.
"[Ford] pointed out that he was not elected by the ballots of the people, so he asked the people of America to confirm his office by their prayers, and I have the same request for the people of Illinois," Quinn said. "This is by far the most trying and difficult time in the history of our state."
Complete Blagojevich case coverage Quinn ended the day in the governor's mansion, a place his predecessor Rod Blagojevich shunned, carrying the weight of the state's economic crisis, and what he dubbed "an integrity crisis," on his shoulders.
He'll arrive back at the Statehouse for a Friday morning news conference at which he'll be expected to start explaining what he means when he says it'll take "sacrifice" for the state to deal with a budget "morass" approaching $5 billion.
The office Quinn vacated will remain unfilled—there's no provision in the state constitution to pick a new lieutenant governor—which is symbolic of the position's lack of power. Should Quinn be unable to serve out Blagojevich's term, Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan would become governor.
Quinn spent part of his whirlwind day monitoring Blagojevich's impeachment trial on an office television, a steady stream of family members, friends and lawmakers swarmed in, seemingly an extra person for each moment he was closer to becoming governor.
First it was the tourists, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man who will forever be enshrined in Illinois history. Then it was his family: two sons, two younger brothers and his 91-year-old mother. And finally it was the security guards, charged with protecting a new governor.
It was quite a crowd for Quinn, who as lieutenant governor eschewed an excessive state police detail, but he soon was able to catch a few quiet moments as he waited to publicly take the oath of office.
He'd already done so privately in his office. Youngest son David was due to catch a plane to London, but Quinn wanted him and his brother Patrick to hold the family Bible as he promised to "faithfully discharge" the duties of governor. Mother Eileen looked on, as a private photographer caught the moment and staff members clapped.
The moment later was described by one of Quinn's brothers as a "solemn" one.
Even as senators decided to throw Blagojevich out of office, there was no celebration in Quinn's camp. He occasionally could be seen milling about his office. His sister-in-law paced the marble halls of the Capitol hoping to rock her 18-month-old daughter to sleep.
As Quinn climbed steps to the House podium to get sworn in, he fought back a smile, but couldn't hold it in any longer when he greeted Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke and hugged the son who shares his name.
Earlier in the day, Quinn said his biggest regret is that his father, who died last year at 93, could not see him become governor. He channeled his father's memory while addressing lawmakers, reading an excerpt from a letter his father's commanding officer wrote during World War II.
"He wrote of my father, 'Patrick J. Quinn is one of the finest men with whom I've ever worked. Extremely capable in his work, he was at all times cheerful, earnest, cooperative, frank and honest,' " Quinn said, reading from a folded sheet of yellow paper.
"Well, I am here today, Jan. 29, 2009, to declare that if all of us, the people of Illinois are cheerful, and earnest, cooperative, frank and honest, we can achieve great things for the Land of Lincoln," he added.
After writing his name on the documents that officially give him his new powers, Quinn held his first news conference as governor, where he said he planned to eat dinner with his family at the Executive Mansion in Springfield and laughed about his frugal reputation while displaying his Super 8 preferred customer card.
Quinn then retreated down a flight of stairs, across the rotunda and into his much larger new office. This time, everyone noticed.
Rex Huppke reported from Chicago.
mcgarcia@tribune.com
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