There are traits that we hope our elected officials have or at least aspire to: Integrity. Transparency. Fiscal responsibility. Ethical behavior. And, the ability to take into consideration different points of view.
But in today’s hyper-partisan world where ethics and good governance are often footnotes to more salacious and confrontational headlines, elected officials who consistently model these attributes are often chastised and ridiculed not just by their opposition but by their own political parties.
The State of Illinois and this country lost one of these true statesmen on Sept. 14 with the passing of former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar.
A man who came from humble roots in Charleston, Illinois, he was known for being intelligent and fair and worked in a bipartisan fashion to do what was not always, or even usually, politically expedient, but rather what was the right thing to do for everyday Illinoisans to make their lives better.
The governor continued to do and say what he felt was right even after leaving elected office. Many will remember that he candidly expressed his views about the last presidential election and current administration.
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As he and I discussed many times before he passed, in today’s world, Jim Edgar, one of Illinois’ most popular governors, leaving office with a 78% approval rating, would never make it out of the Republican primary, much less become the state’s governor.
What does that say about our world?
I was one of hundreds and likely thousands of people mentored by Jim Edgar. He understood diverse voices matter, placing more women and people of color in leadership in his administration than ever before. That was the foundation of my career.
From a junior press office staffer’s point of view, the governor could be a very intense figure. He’d frequently come into our office full of fire about an offense someone from the media committed or to ask for advice from former Quad City Time’s editor Mike Lawrence who was Edgar’s press secretary, senior advisor and public policy compass. They were an unstoppable pair.
Eight years ago, I was asked by the governor to work for him again, this time as the executive director of his legacy project – Edgar Fellows. This highly successful, public policy leadership program brings together people representing the diversity of Illinois to learn and more importantly to get to know each other.
My charge from him was to help grow relationships between the more than 500 Fellows and create ways for them to mentor even more people in the governor’s lessons of using civility, compromise and compassion to solve problems.
I miss him already. This world needs more people like my friend Jim Edgar.
Janet Mathis is executive director of the Edgar Fellows. Find out more about that program at igpa.uillinois.edu/programs/the-edgar-fellows-program.
