Quinn: Cohen Response is Unsatisfactory

By Bill McMorris 312-624-3034

CHICAGO – Gov. Pat Quinn says his new running mate way want to step down.

Scott Lee Cohen, the party’s nominee for Lieutenant Governor, is dealing with revelations of a domestic abuse complaint from an ex-girlfriend with a history of prostitution.

The governor did not mention Cohen’s name once during a 45 minute press conference about the upcoming election on Thursday. But Quinn made it clear he wants some answers about the man he’ll have to run with this fall.

Quinn says his running mate “has a lot of explaining to do” in connection with the incident and is hoping for a quick resolution.

The governor said he has no plans of trying to force Cohen off the ticket. Instead Quinn wants Cohen to explain himself.

Quinn said Cohen is going to have to decide whether to stay on the ballot or drop out of the race. “If there are matters that are raised about your conduct that disqualify you from running in a proper way for an election in the fall, then the only appropriate thing is to step aside,” he said.

Quinn says he did not know about the arrest, nor has he spoken to Cohen since the primary.

Cohen’s former girlfriend told police that the millionaire pawnbroker held a knife to her throat during an argument in October 2005. The officers who responded to the scene noticed abrasions on the woman’s neck indicative of a knife wound, but charges were dropped when the woman did not appear in court to testify.

Cohen has not tried to hide his past and disclosed the arrest during the primary campaign. He claims the woman was drunk during the time of the argument and says he did not lay a finger on her.

Cohen is maintaining his innocence and says he has no intention of stepping down.

“When the facts come to light, after my ex-wife and ex-girlfriend speak, the people of Illinois can decide, and I will listen to them directly,” he said.

Quinn says Cohen’s response, so far, has been “unsatisfactory.”

Removing the lieutenant governor nominee from the ballot is easier said than done. Although Quinn and Cohen are running mates in the race, Cohen alone can resign his spot on the ticket. If Cohen decides to step down, it would be up to a party committee to choose a replacement for the ticket.

Quinn says there are many people suited for the job, but would not endorse a replacement candidate.

The scandal has some looking back to the 1986 Democratic primaries when Adlai Stevenson III spurned the party nomination after being partnered with Lt. Gov. nominee Mark J. Fairchild, a political radical. Stevenson would go on to lose the general election to Republican Jim Thompson.