(CHICAGO) — Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar is being remembered as a politician that could work with both sides of the political isle.
Edgar passed away Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. His former chief of staff Kirk Dillard says Edgar was able to work with Democrats to fix a huge budget shortfall and better fund education.
“One of the things I tell folks, especially his first year as governor, we went overtime a number of weeks into July and Mike Madigan was the speaker back then and Gov. Edgar starred him down, worked with him and we got a budget that was manageable in Illinois to start putting us on the path of good fiscal stewardship” Dillard told the Ray Stevens Show on WLS-AM 890. “He taught me you can be nice, you can be civil but you can also be tough and he was all of those things.”
Born in Oklahoma, Edgar’s family moved to Charleston, Illinois while he was a young child. His political career began when he was elected to the Illinois House in 1974.
Being from Downstate, Dillard says Edgar worked especially hard to meet everyday Chicagoans when he campaigned for governor. He would go on to serve as governor for two terms spanning 1991-1999.
Jim Edgar was 79. Funeral services are being planned.
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