DuPage County Chairman Bob Schillerstrom fought hard for zero-based budgeting to fix the state's ailing deficit. But now it's him who's back at zero.
Hurting financially, Schillerstrom dropped out of the governor's race this morning. His exit creates new opportunity for the man he's now endorsed, former Attorney General Jim Ryan.
The question for Ryan, whose campaign is also tight on cash, is whether Schillerstrom's supporters would help him enough to defeat Andy McKenna, a more conservative candidate with more momentum and money.
According to a poll by the Chicago Tribune and WGN, Ryan led the popularity contest in December, with McKenna trailing.
But McKenna's deluge of "Hair" ads and attacks on Ryan and other Republican moderates have given him growing presence in a tight race.
Recent campaign disclosures also show McKenna clearing the GOP field financially, a factor that bodes ill for any Republican except perhaps Kirk Dillard, second among GOP candidates in fund raising and third in the December poll.
Dillard, the most left-leaning of Republicans in the race, may score extra support from moderates who supported Schillerstrom but wouldn't vote for Ryan. The fact that he's doing well financially will help him earn more votes.
So with one out in the governor's race, the losers here are the conservative GOP candidates, who've bemoaned the Ryan endorsement loud and clear.
"Who will lead the revolution in Illinois? Jim Ryan?" GOP candidate Dan Proft asked in a statement. "He is a fine man but, please, be serious."
Bill Brady, apparently poking fun at Schillerstrom's campaign nickname, the "Schillerstorm," called his endorsement for Ryan an expletive storm instead.
"Bob and Jim are the 'taxing tag team,' and with Kirk Dillard, it makes three," Brady said in a statement. "Talk about a ****storm!"
Ryan, on his campaign Web site, defended himself against the oft-repeated accusation that he would support a state tax hike.
"Bob ran a spirited campaign, and we share many of the same priorities for Illinois — especially putting Illinoisans back to work and holding the line against higher taxes," he wrote. "I hope to earn the support of all those voters who were previously supporting Bob’s campaign for governor."