With her short red tresses, sturdy build,
raspy voice and forthright manner, Judy Baar Topinka could easily
be mistaken for a favorite aunt who happily dishes to her nephews
about the birds and the bees. Like that same aunt, Topinka doesn’t
let anything, be it lunch or smokes, go to waste. Don’t let her forget that salad that
she purchased earlier when she travels to Chicago tomorrow, she
reminds a staffer. “If I bought it, I’m gonna eat
it,” Topinka says. As for the cigarette burning in an ashtray on
the table in front of her, “it’ll be out in three
shakes,” she says, “but since they cost so much, I do
want to finish it.” Judging from the odor in the windowless
conference room at her Springfield campaign headquarters on Monroe
Street, it’s not Topinka’s first smoke of the night,
nor will it be the last. It’s hard to tell whether it’s
the cigarettes calming her nerves these days or the fact that
before Topinka formally announced that she’d run, she was
pegged as the favorite to take the party’s nomination in the
2006 Illinois gubernatorial race — but she hasn’t
looked back since. Part of Topinka’s job as
Illinois’ banker is to educate the public about financial
matters, a task that the treasurer seems to be devoting more and
more time to, judging from the flood of news releases from her
press officers. She also invests and keeps tabs on the piggy
bank to get the most bang for the state’s tax buck. By most
standards, she’s doing a fine job of it. First elected
treasurer in 1994, Topinka is the last Republican hanging on to a
constitutionally elected office in a once-red state that’s
getting bluer with each election. That she weathered the political storm of
George Ryan’s downfall, the election of Rod Blagojevich as
the first Democratic governor in a generation, and the election in
2004 of ultraliberal Barack Obama makes Topinka the state
party’s dream candidate to take (back?) the governor’s
mansion this year. With his poll numbers sagging under the
weight of potential scandal, Topinka may also be the worst
nightmare of incumbent Blagojevich, who lately gets about as much
love in downstate Illinois as St. Louis’ boys of summer do in
the North Chicago neighborhood where Blagojevich grew up. Nonetheless, ousting Blagojevich won’t
be easy, even for the battle-tested Topinka, who celebrated her
62nd birthday in January. In light of the governor’s $15
million war chest, Topinka has some serious ground to make up in
terms of fundraising. At the end of the year, Topinka had amassed
$1.4 million, some of which she’s used already to fend off
attacks levied by fellow Republicans. With the March 21 primary less than a month
away, Topinka — who jumped into the fray after popular former
Republican Gov. Jim Edgar opted not to go after the party’s
nomination — enjoys a comfortable 21-percentage-point lead
over her nearest rival, milk baron Jim Oberweis, according to a
recent Chicago Tribune poll. The poll also shows Ron Gidwitz, who held
posts as head of the state Board of Education and as CEO of shampoo
maker Helene Curtis, is in third place; state Sen. Bill Brady of
Bloomington and Andy Martin, a perennial candidate, round out the field. On the Democratic side, Blagojevich’s
only challenger for the Democratic Party’s nod is former
Chicago Councilman Edwin Eisendrath. Although a quarter of likely Republicans
haven’t made up their minds, leaving the contest
statistically wide open, the safe money says that unless disaster
strikes, it’ll be Topinka locking horns with Blagojevich next
fall, even if she isn’t quite the poster girl for the Grand
Old Party.
It was difficult when she was
growing up in Riverside, Topinka says, to find books about
successful women outside the field of social services. “You talk about Jane Addams or Clara
Barton, Florence Nightingale — all very fine women, but they
didn’t do things the way I did them,” Topinka says. “I didn’t really find a sort of
heroine until I read about Amelia Earhart, and we all know how she
ended up,” she jokes. In addition to what she learned from the
famous aviatrix, who disappeared in 1937, Topinka, who spoke Czech
before she learned English, learned a lot by studying her maternal
grandparents. “I had the benefit of a couple of
people who had gone through the Depression, who knew how to save
money, who knew how to be thrifty, who knew how to make a little go
a long way — and that was of great help to me in
understanding life,” Topinka says. Her mother, who started a realty company
where her father also worked after he returned from serving in
World War II, was also a source of inspiration and education. “I would help with the business in
terms of looking for tips, even when I was a kid,” she says.
“‘Hey, Mom and Dad, Johnny’s parents are gonna
sell their house’ And I learned very early — and it
helped me in my journalism career — to always get the name,
address, and phone number.” In 1962, she left Riverside to attend
Northwestern University, where she majored in journalism. After
more than a decade as a reporter and editor in the Chicago suburbs,
Topinka became a state representative and, in 1984, a senator. A decade later, as her heroine Earhart had
done in the aviation field, Topinka would begin a string of firsts
in Illinois as the first woman elected and re-elected state
treasurer and the first person to hold the job three times. She decided against running for the U.S.
Senate in 2004 after GOP nominee Jack Ryan bowed out amid scandal,
instead considering the possibility of a run for governor. However,
former Gov. Jim Edgar, her friend and ally, indicated that he might
take a shot at Blagojevich’s job in 2006. “I’m not gonna run against Jim
Edgar,” Topinka says. “To me, that would be absolutely
stupid because, philosophically, we’re pretty much the same.
There’s a mutual liking there; we get along just fine. “We could even bracket the whole ticket
and make the ticket even better. I really thought he was going to
run, or else he would not have made himself a factor in
this.” One last “straw that drove the camel
forward,” she says, came from a reporter who, during an
interview, used “some slurs” about another candidate.
“It made it apparent to me that I needed to run,”
Topinka says. When Edgar announced last fall that he would
not run, Topinka gathered her crew and asked, “‘OK, can
we do this?’ — because I’m also not one to just
have a hot flash and just decide I’m gonna run for governor
and then do it haphazardly. “We would have an organized, thorough
‘What are the positives and negatives’: ‘Can we
win? Can we beat this guy? It’s not gonna be a
slam-dunk,’” she recalls. “We thought about it and said,
‘Yeah, we can do it. Let’s do it.’”
As popular as Topinka is and as
unpopular as Blagojevich has become in some parts of the state,
dislodging the incumbent governor will be no small feat. It helps that in Illinois, which tends to be
more progressive than other Midwestern states, Topinka, the former
chairwoman of the state Republican Party, is a self-proclaimed
social moderate. On fiscal issues, however, she calls herself a
“bedrock conservative.” “I don’t demonize people,”
she explains. “I’m not a hater. I don’t
discriminate, and I’m not about to start pandering to get
votes.” And she’s an independent thinker. Thinking in terms of her prospective role as
commander in chief of the Illinois National Guard, Topinka says
that President George W. Bush’s decision to activate the
National Guard to active duty in the Iraq War was not a “wise
course.” “I would prefer that the guard stay at
home where it can be helpful in terms of natural disasters or any
other problems that we may have,” she says. “You can see one of
the problems that existed in Louisiana when their guard was
overseas and they were needed there.” On the subject of affirmative action, Topinka
says that she supports the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2003 decision
that race can be a factor in college admissions, just not the sole
determinant. “I thought [former Associate Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor] said it pretty well in terms of trying
to accommodate all sides so that there would be fairness,”
Topinka says. The recent appointment of Samuel Alito to
fill O’Connor’s seat on the court has led people on
both sides of the abortion issue to believe that the Roe v. Wade decision’s
days are numbered, clearing the way for states to restrict or even
ban abortion. Still, Topinka says, she firmly supports Roe with some
“common-sense restrictions,” such as spousal consent,
parental notification, and bans on third-trimester and
“partial-birth” abortions. “Ultimately the health and the life of
the mother trump any of that,” she says. “That is
always preeminent, and there are no constitutional amendments that
would seek to eliminate abortions.
“Nobody is happy with abortion, but it
is with us, so let us regulate it in as commonsensical a way as we
can just to find a way that we can all live together with this
issue.” Though Topinka believes in civil unions, has
participated in Chicago’s Gay Pride parade, and applauds the
Legislature’s passage of the
sexual-orientation-nondiscrimination bill, she doesn’t like
the idea of gay marriage — but she cringes at the thought of
amending the state Constitution to ban the practice. “Oh God, no! It’s in the
law,” she exclaims. “What do we need to gunk up the
Constitution for?” Topinka even backs Blagojevich’s move
to require pharmacists to fill certain prescriptions, such as Plan
B, the morning-after pill, with a physician’s referral. That’s a hard pill to swallow for many
conservatives, who say that they won’t vote for Topinka even
if she gets the nomination over her more right-leaning opponents,
Oberweis and Brady. Choosing more conservative DuPage County
State’s Attorney Joe Birkett as a running mate was certainly
a step in the right direction for her, though many on the hard
right have threatened to stay home in November if the party selects
Topinka as the nominee. If enough Republicans snub her, Topinka may
need to call in reinforcements from the Republican National
Committee, but the extent to which the party will go to bat for
Topinka, who is more than a bit outside the conservative
mainstream, is unclear. Christopher Z. Mooney, professor at the
Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of
Illinois at Springfield, notes that national parties rarely get
involved in gubernatorial races, choosing to instead to concentrate
on congressional races. Mooney believes that as a woman from a major
state, Topinka might give the RNC reason to become more involved in
the race than they would ordinarily. Topinka says that she has chatted with
presidential advisor Karl Rove and twice talked to RNC chairman Ken
Mehlman, who, she says, has pledged the party’s support after
the primary. If Rove and Mehlman do trek to Illinois,
Mooney speculates, it won’t be to stump for Topinka so much
as to raise some cash and energize conservatives, who certainly
won’t vote for Blagojevich but could stay home in November. “I think they feel I can win,”
Topinka says. “Granted, they’re promises. I have not
taken anything to the bank, and I’m hoping that promises are
fulfilled as they said they would be, because I take promises
seriously.”
If hanging the
“liberal” tag on Topinka has been unsuccessful, so have
opponents’ attempts to link Topinka with George Ryan,
who’s facing racketeering charges. “George Ryan was always nice to me on
the campaign trail. I appreciate people who are kind to me. I am
kind in return,” Topinka says. “I was never intimate — I mean, I
didn’t go out to eat or vacations or do any of that. Did we
get along? Yes. But I’ve gotten along with all other
governors with the exception of this one, because I can’t
find this one.” Topinka says that she doesn’t consider
herself a Springfield insider, not with Democrats or with fellow
Republicans. “I’ve always been pretty
independent,” she says. “Insiders gotta play the game,
and I don’t play the game. I’ve got my own
game.” Topinka’s most vehement critic to this
point has been fellow moderate Gidwitz. In a recently unveiled TV
ad, the Chicago businessman accuses Topinka of favoring bigger
government, prompting the state party to tell Gidwitz to back down.
Until this week, when she rolled out a plan
to end so-called pay-to-play politics, Topinka had been markedly
silent on ethics-reform issues, instead choosing hammer away at
Blagojevich’s many social programs, which, she says, the
state just can’t afford. However, she stops short of promising to
slash them en masse if elected. “We want to do right by our
kids,” she says, suggesting that she will take a close look
at Blagojevich’s new preschool program and All Kids, his
proposal for comprehensive health insurance for children. The way the programs are configured, she
argues, the state cannot pay for either of them, no matter how
well-intended they appear. Among other concerns, she’s
worried about how to pay for extra teachers and the
brick-and-mortar costs of building new facilities. “Common sense says that if you’re
not paying your bills now, how can you add these programs
on?” she asks. “That’s just irresponsible, and
it’s creating expectations in people that cannot be met, and
that’s not fair. “As my grandmother always said,
‘Don’t ever pet a dog you can’t take home.’
”
If she wins, Topinka says, she
looks forward to making a home in the Executive Mansion next
winter. An actual occupant of the governor’s residence would
be a change — Blagojevich and his family are seldom there. “That’s the people’s house,
and it’s such a symbolic thing for the governor’s
office, the state, and state government, which, frankly, belongs
and is and should be in Springfield; it shouldn’t be hijacked
to Chicago. Topinka, who is divorced, looks forward to
holiday visits with her son, Joe, and his family, who reside in
Washington state. The rest of the year, her dogs Mollie McDoo and
Raggedy Andy will keep her company. “If a mom is there, everybody comes to
the house and feels like it’s their house, and they feel the
warmth and hospitality of that house because it will be open to the
public. To pass it at night, as I do, and it’s just this big
dark structure, is very sad.” A bill before the Legislature proposes to ban
smoking in all indoor public workplaces, including the Executive
Mansion. If elected, expect Topinka, who quit once for 79 days but
gave up during a legislative battle, to light up — no matter
what. “If I’m gonna be living there,
that’s my house — I expect that accommodation. I
won’t smoke where the people are, but at least give me a
little roam room.” “It’s my only bad habit, other
than a tad bit of swearing every once in a while.”
The rest of the herd
The four men seeking the Republican nomination JIM OBERWEIS, Sugar Grove The Milkman. Oberweis, 59, works as chairman
of Oberweis Dairy and Oberweis Asset Management. A multimillionaire and social
conservative, Oberweis made bids for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and 2004,
finishing second in the GOP primary in both attempts. He wants to crack
down on illegal immigration and has joined the chorus of Republicans
vowing to pass ethics reform in Springfield. Statistically, he is
within striking distance of front-runner Judy Baar Topinka, according
to a recent Chicago Tribune poll, but the gap between them appears to be widening.
RON GIDWITZ, Chicago The other millionaire. Running on yet another reform ticket,
Gidwitz recruited state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger of Elgin to join
him as his running mate after Rauschenberger initially sought the
nomination for himself. Gidwitz, 60, formerly headed up Helene
Curtis, a personal-care-products company founded by his father, as
well as the Illinois State Board of Education under Gov. George
Ryan. Though long active in Republican circles, the 2006
gubernatorial campaign is Gidwitz’s first foray into politics
as a candidate. He was the first to air TV ads and the first
Republican to attack Topinka, whom he trails almost 4-to-1.
BILL BRADY, Bloomington
Not the former Knick who ran for president.
Representing Bloomington in the state Senate, Brady is the only
candidate for governor on either side who hails from south of
Interstate 80. At age 44, he is also the youngest candidate in the
field of Republicans. Brady served in the Illinois House of
Representatives from 1993 to 2000 and was appointed to the state
Senate in 2002. In his “Contract with Illinois,” Brady,
one of the more conservative candidates, promises to lower property
taxes and “defend the moral values that make Illinois
families strong, promote a culture that respects life and embrace
policies that encourage personal responsibility.”
ANDY MARTIN, Chicago
(perhaps) The eccentric one. Andy Martin, formerly
known as Anthony R. Martin-Trigona, is perhaps the most interesting
personality in the race. In his 30-plus-year political
“career” (he has never held public office) since the
state Supreme Court refused to admit the University of Illinois
College of Law graduate to the bar, Martin has been a conservative
and a liberal, railed against Jews and editorialized touchingly on
civil-rights pioneer Rosa Parks. During a 2000 presidential bid,
Martin ran an ad accusing then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush of having
used cocaine. Four years later, he ran for U.S. Senate
simultaneously in Illinois and Florida, garnering a third of the
statewide Republican vote in the latter state. Whether he actually
is a resident of Illinois was the subject of a recent complaint to
state election officials [see R.L. Nave, “Crackpot,”
Feb. 16].
This article appears in Feb 23 – Mar 1, 2006.
