Nation's 1st primary sets stage for Illinois showdown

CHICAGO — Illinois voters trickled to the polls Tuesday in the nation's first primary of the year to determine which Democrats will defend both the governor's office and a U.S. Senate seat against Republicans eyeing Democratic infighting and scandal.

The Republicans were pinning their hopes on the Democratic disarray that followed the ouster of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was kicked out of office over a long list of corruption charges, including the allegation that he tried to sell President Barack Obama's former Senate seat.

Losing that seat would be a bigger personal embarrassment for Obama than Republican Scott Brown's upset victory last month in Massachusetts, which took away the late Edward M. Kennedy's Senate seat.

The nominees who emerge from the bruising primary will fight for the chance to run a state so deep in debt that it can't pay bills on time and must consider painful service cuts, higher taxes or both.

Some voters in Chicago sounded disgruntled after making their way through a steady morning snow to vote.

"I don't trust any of them," said John Rogers, a 62-year-old salesman, referring to a history of corruption among Illinois politicians. "Is anybody honest? No. You're voting for the lesser of two evils, as always."

Turnout appeared light at some polling stations. In the first three hours of voting, just 29 people cast ballots at the First United Presbyterian Church in Collinsville, east of St. Louis, election judge Dale Willeford said. That was consistent with low turnout in other primaries he's worked over nearly a decade, he said.

In the governor's race, incumbent Pat Quinn is seeking a full term after being thrust into office a year ago when Blagojevich was expelled. After walking to vote near his home, Quinn sounded prepared for victory or defeat.

"There's an old saying, 'One day a peacock, the next day a feather duster,'" he said. "I have to be ready for anything."

It initially appeared Quinn would easily win the Democratic nomination. But that was before the disclosure that a secret early release program for prison inmates had included some violent offenders. It also was before his opponent, Comptroller Dan Hynes, introduced an ad featuring old footage of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington — a revered figure to many black voters — harshly criticizing Quinn.