Sen. Bill Brady to concede Illinois governor race

CHICAGO — Two Republicans with knowledge of state Sen. Bill Brady's campaign plans say he will concede the extremely close race for Illinois governor to Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn.

The two spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt Brady's planned announcement later Friday in his hometown of Bloomington.

Election results have made it clear Quinn won his bid for a first full term after replacing ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich nearly two years ago. But Brady's campaign had been searching for possible uncounted votes that would allow him to close a narrow gap in votes.

An AP analysis of uncounted votes from absentee and other ballots shows Brady won't be able to overcome the more than 19,400-vote lead Quinn holds with all precincts reporting.

The victory means Quinn avoided the fate of Democratic governors nationwide who were swept away by a Republican surge.

Quinn assured voters that Brady's refusal to concede the state's closest governor's race in decades wouldn't keep him from the business of his first full term in office — tackling one of the nation's worst budget problems and a deficit that could top $15 billion.

"I have work to do," he said Thursday, the same day the state Senate put off voting on a borrowing plan Quinn wants to pay the state's underfunded pension system. "I know the people of Illinois want to make sure we get our economy back on stride. That's what I'm focused on night and day."

Brady said on Thursday that he wasn't giving up, even though his campaign acknowledged that it did not have a specific scenario that would produce a victory.

"There's a number of votes that have yet to be counted — military, absentee and others," Brady told reporters in the state capital of Springfield. "We're going to deal with all the data that's there, and we'll then deal with the decision-making process as we gather data."

State officials have until Dec. 3 to certify all results.

Quinn, meanwhile, had already moved on, thanking voters Thursday at a Chicago deli.

"I think the people of Illinois know I won the election," said Quinn, who held on even as many other Democrat governors were voted out and Republicans in Illinois claimed the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, along with a majority of the state's congressional delegation.