Cohen to Quit

Once again, Illinois democrats thwarting the will of the people:

• A tearful Scott Lee Cohen, the pawnbroker who won the Democratic lieutenant governor nomination, only to have his scandalized past surface and threaten the ticket, said Sunday he would step aside, giving Democratic party leaders a chance to pick his replacement.

  “For the good of the people of State of Illinois and the Democratic party, I will resign,” Cohen said at the Hop Haus, a bar and restaurant at 7545 N. Clark during the Super Bowl. The choked up Cohen, a political neophyte who poured $2 million into his campaign, was flanked by his fiancee, Karen Reisman and two of his sons, Zachery, 17, and Jacob, 11.

  “It is my hope and I pray with all heart, that I didn’t hurt the people that I love so much,” Cohen said. “All I every wanted to do was to run for office and to help the people, not cause chaos.”

We guess Madigan told him he wasn't getting a penny from the national or state election funds. So that's about $2 million Cohen will never see again. Now, as head of the Illinois democratic party, Madigan gets to hand pick Quinn's running mate. How nice that he can circumvent elections on a whim and a threat. Cohen won, fair and square, despite his baggage and with the media lying down on the job - does anyone think his troubles wouldn't have been front page news for months on end if he had been a republican?

Hopefully, this is as bad a misstep as leaving him on the ticket.