Rich Whitney
Encyclopedia
Rich Whitney is an Illinois
politician
and civil rights attorney who was the Illinois Green Party
's nominee for Governor of Illinois
in the elections of 2006
and 2010
. During the 2006 campaign Whitney received endorsements from several newspapers, including the Rockford Register Star, Southwest News-Herald, and State School News Service. In that year's election Whitney received 361,336 votes for 10.4% of the vote, a relatively strong finish for a third party
. In the 2010 election his share of the vote was 2.7%.
in 1955 and lives in Carbondale
, Illinois
. He is a civil rights attorney
with degrees from Michigan State University
and Southern Illinois University
's School of Law. He was a member of the Socialist Labor Party from 1975–1993 and at one point edited "The People," the party's national newspaper. He resigned from the party in 1993 and no longer identifies with socialism
.
Whitney was involved in nationwide legal battles to regulate tobacco advertising, on behalf of the public health community, including the American Medical Association
, the American Cancer Society
, the American Lung Association
and Public Citizen
. Whitney also is one of the founding members of the Illinois Green Party
and wrote a significant portion of the Party's platform.
for the 115th District (Carbondale
) seat. In 2002 Whitney finished 3rd of 3 running for one seat gaining 2150 votes for 6% of the total vote. In Whitney's second attempt for elected office he managed 3,859 votes for 8.3% of the total vote.
According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, within 2 hours of filing, a copy of the petition was requested by Mike Kasper, General Counsel and Treasurer of the Democratic Party of Illinois
, at 6:00pm. One week later, on July 3, objections to the petition were filed, claiming that many of the signatures were not genuine or did not belong to registered voters.
Green Party officials stated that the objections seemed to have been made at random, without actual examination of any records. The objections included signatures that the Greens had already crossed out; and in some cases objections were made to the 11th signature on a page, even though each page contained only 10 signatures. Even Whitney's own signature on the petition was challenged.
The hearing process involved 12 or more election judges consistently working full-time for several weeks. Each party also provided a matching number of members to sit with the election judges, during the workday, as they examined thousands of signatures, either overruling or sustaining each objection. Objections were assumed valid, and automatically sustained, unless a Green Party representative was present before each election judge to compare signatures and present a defense.
Following the hearing, the State Board of Elections' Hearing Officer, Barbara Goodman, recommended that the Green Party's candidates be placed on the ballot and stated that the case was "extremely straightforward." The Board's examination confirmed that the Greens collected thousands more than the required number of signatures for ballot access.
On Election Day
, Whitney ran third, receiving, 361,336 votes for 10.4%. Incumbent Governor Rod Blagojevich
won the election, receiving 1,736,731 votes, for 49.8%. State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka
ran second, with 1,369,315 votes for 39.3%.
By receiving more than 5% of the total vote, Whitney's candidacy allowed the Green Party to become an established political party statewide, according to Illinois state election law. This status provided the party with several new advantages, such as lower signature requirements for ballot access, primary elections, free access to additional voter data, the ability to elect precinct committeemen, run a partial slate of candidates at any jurisdictional level, and slate candidates without petitioning. The only other statewide established political parties are the Democratic
and Republican
parties. It is rare for a new political party to become established statewide in Illinois, the last to do so being the Solidarity Party
in 1986 and the Progressive Party before that.
Whitney's campaign platform included raising income taxes, lowering property taxes, legalizing and taxing marijuana, and putting a tax on some of the trades at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
and Chicago Board Options Exchange. Whitney said even a tiny tax on the billions of dollars traded on the Exchange could amount to big money for the state. In a March 2010 interview, Whitney stated, "I think most people in Illinois are actually in favor of an income tax increase."
Like California Green Party gubernatorial candidate Laura Wells
, Whitney also proposed putting state tax revenues and pension contributions into a state bank. In a March 11, 2010, article in The Nation
, Whitney said, "Instead of using state funds as a means to further enrich private banks, a state-owned bank could earn additional revenue for the state while at the same time help spur economic development in Illinois."
According to a poll conducted from June 12–13, Whitney was at 9%, and by August a poll showed that 11% of respondents approved of him. But a poll in September showed a decline to 8%, and by late October his numbers were as low as 4%. (Poll results are summarized in the article Illinois gubernatorial election, 2010
.)
Whitney called for open debates to include all candidates, and stated in an interview:
In October 2010, CBS News
reported that Whitney's name was misspelled on electronic ballots as "Rich Whitey". The problem affected 20 Chicago wards that were predominately African-American. It was estimated that 10% of all votes would be cast electronically.
Results in the 2010 election
showed that Whitney
finished with 99,625 votes (2.7% of the total), placing fourth: ahead of Libertarian Lex Green
but behind Scott Lee Cohen
, who ran as an Independent.
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and civil rights attorney who was the Illinois Green Party
Illinois Green Party
The Illinois Green Party is a statewide political party in Illinois.The party is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. Its stated mission and purpose are to advance the Ten Key Values of the Green Party in Illinois through political means and to support individual members and the...
's nominee for Governor of Illinois
Governor of Illinois
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state....
in the elections of 2006
Illinois gubernatorial election, 2006
The Illinois gubernatorial election of 2006 occurred on November 7, 2006. The Governor of Illinois, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, won re-election for a four-year term scheduled to have ended on January 10, 2011. However, Blagojevich was impeached in 2009...
and 2010
Illinois gubernatorial election, 2010
An election for Governor of Illinois was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, sought and was elected to a full term. Quinn was elected as the Democratic nominee, the Green Party nominee was Rich Whitney, the Republican nominee was State Senator Bill Brady, the...
. During the 2006 campaign Whitney received endorsements from several newspapers, including the Rockford Register Star, Southwest News-Herald, and State School News Service. In that year's election Whitney received 361,336 votes for 10.4% of the vote, a relatively strong finish for a third party
Third party (United States)
The term third party is used in the United States for any and all political parties in the United States other than one of the two major parties . The term can also refer to independent politicians not affiliated with any party at all and to write-in candidates.The United States has had a...
. In the 2010 election his share of the vote was 2.7%.
Personal history
Whitney was born in ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
in 1955 and lives in Carbondale
Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. He is a civil rights attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
with degrees from Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
and Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses...
's School of Law. He was a member of the Socialist Labor Party from 1975–1993 and at one point edited "The People," the party's national newspaper. He resigned from the party in 1993 and no longer identifies with socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
.
Whitney was involved in nationwide legal battles to regulate tobacco advertising, on behalf of the public health community, including the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
, the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
, the American Lung Association
American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.-History:...
and Public Citizen
Public Citizen
Public Citizen is a non-profit, consumer rights advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas. Public Citizen was founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, headed for 26 years by Joan Claybrook, and is now headed by Robert Weissman.-Lobbying Efforts:Public Citizen...
. Whitney also is one of the founding members of the Illinois Green Party
Illinois Green Party
The Illinois Green Party is a statewide political party in Illinois.The party is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. Its stated mission and purpose are to advance the Ten Key Values of the Green Party in Illinois through political means and to support individual members and the...
and wrote a significant portion of the Party's platform.
2002 and 2004 Campaigns for State House of Representatives
In both 2002 and 2004, Whitney ran for the Illinois House of RepresentativesIllinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
for the 115th District (Carbondale
Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest...
) seat. In 2002 Whitney finished 3rd of 3 running for one seat gaining 2150 votes for 6% of the total vote. In Whitney's second attempt for elected office he managed 3,859 votes for 8.3% of the total vote.
2006 run for Governor
On June 26, 2006, the Illinois Green Party filed a nominating petition including signatures of more than 39,000 Illinois voters, collected within a 90 day period. New political parties are required to collect 25,000 signatures within this period to get onto the ballot in Illinois, while established parties need only 5,000 according to state law. The petition measured approximately 19 inches thick.According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, within 2 hours of filing, a copy of the petition was requested by Mike Kasper, General Counsel and Treasurer of the Democratic Party of Illinois
Democratic Party of Illinois
The Democratic Party of Illinois is a political party and affiliate of the United States Democratic Party in Illinois. It is the oldest still-existing state party in Illinois and, along with the Green and Republican Parties, one of just three legally established parties in the state.-History:The...
, at 6:00pm. One week later, on July 3, objections to the petition were filed, claiming that many of the signatures were not genuine or did not belong to registered voters.
Green Party officials stated that the objections seemed to have been made at random, without actual examination of any records. The objections included signatures that the Greens had already crossed out; and in some cases objections were made to the 11th signature on a page, even though each page contained only 10 signatures. Even Whitney's own signature on the petition was challenged.
The hearing process involved 12 or more election judges consistently working full-time for several weeks. Each party also provided a matching number of members to sit with the election judges, during the workday, as they examined thousands of signatures, either overruling or sustaining each objection. Objections were assumed valid, and automatically sustained, unless a Green Party representative was present before each election judge to compare signatures and present a defense.
Following the hearing, the State Board of Elections' Hearing Officer, Barbara Goodman, recommended that the Green Party's candidates be placed on the ballot and stated that the case was "extremely straightforward." The Board's examination confirmed that the Greens collected thousands more than the required number of signatures for ballot access.
On Election Day
Election Day (United States)
Election Day in the United States is the day set by law for the general elections of public officials. It occurs on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The earliest possible date is November 2 and the latest possible date is November 8...
, Whitney ran third, receiving, 361,336 votes for 10.4%. Incumbent Governor Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
won the election, receiving 1,736,731 votes, for 49.8%. State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka
Judy Baar Topinka
Judy Baar Topinka is the Illinois State Comptroller and former Illinois State Treasurer, having served as Treasurer from 1995 to 2007, and former chairwoman of the Illinois Republican Party. She was the first woman to become state treasurer, first to be elected to three consecutive terms and the...
ran second, with 1,369,315 votes for 39.3%.
By receiving more than 5% of the total vote, Whitney's candidacy allowed the Green Party to become an established political party statewide, according to Illinois state election law. This status provided the party with several new advantages, such as lower signature requirements for ballot access, primary elections, free access to additional voter data, the ability to elect precinct committeemen, run a partial slate of candidates at any jurisdictional level, and slate candidates without petitioning. The only other statewide established political parties are the Democratic
Democratic Party of Illinois
The Democratic Party of Illinois is a political party and affiliate of the United States Democratic Party in Illinois. It is the oldest still-existing state party in Illinois and, along with the Green and Republican Parties, one of just three legally established parties in the state.-History:The...
and Republican
Illinois Republican Party
The Illinois Republican Party is the state-level affiliate of the Republican Party in Illinois. Since August 20, 2009, it has been chaired by Pat Brady...
parties. It is rare for a new political party to become established statewide in Illinois, the last to do so being the Solidarity Party
Solidarity Party
The Solidarity Party was an American political party in the state of Illinois. It was named after Lech Wałęsa's Solidarity movement in Poland, which was widely-admired in Illinois at the time .The party was founded in 1986 by Senator Adlai Stevenson III in reaction to the Democratic Party's...
in 1986 and the Progressive Party before that.
2010 Run for Governor
On July 15, 2009, Whitney announced his candidacy for the Green Party's nomination for governor in 2010.Whitney's campaign platform included raising income taxes, lowering property taxes, legalizing and taxing marijuana, and putting a tax on some of the trades at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is an American financial and commodity derivative exchange based in Chicago. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board. Originally, the exchange was a non-profit organization...
and Chicago Board Options Exchange. Whitney said even a tiny tax on the billions of dollars traded on the Exchange could amount to big money for the state. In a March 2010 interview, Whitney stated, "I think most people in Illinois are actually in favor of an income tax increase."
Like California Green Party gubernatorial candidate Laura Wells
Laura Wells
Laura Wells is a Green Party candidate for the 2010 Governor’s race in the State of California. Wells is a former financial and business analyst, and political activist in Oakland California. She supports making significant changes to Proposition 13 and to the current super-majority voting rule in...
, Whitney also proposed putting state tax revenues and pension contributions into a state bank. In a March 11, 2010, article in The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, Whitney said, "Instead of using state funds as a means to further enrich private banks, a state-owned bank could earn additional revenue for the state while at the same time help spur economic development in Illinois."
According to a poll conducted from June 12–13, Whitney was at 9%, and by August a poll showed that 11% of respondents approved of him. But a poll in September showed a decline to 8%, and by late October his numbers were as low as 4%. (Poll results are summarized in the article Illinois gubernatorial election, 2010
Illinois gubernatorial election, 2010
An election for Governor of Illinois was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, sought and was elected to a full term. Quinn was elected as the Democratic nominee, the Green Party nominee was Rich Whitney, the Republican nominee was State Senator Bill Brady, the...
.)
Whitney called for open debates to include all candidates, and stated in an interview:
"The idea of debate is to get all of the points of view on the table, and let the voters decide,” Whitney said. "I’m very happy to put my ideas to the test of more than just two opponents. Again, I think the public is the winner when that happens."
In October 2010, CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
reported that Whitney's name was misspelled on electronic ballots as "Rich Whitey". The problem affected 20 Chicago wards that were predominately African-American. It was estimated that 10% of all votes would be cast electronically.
Results in the 2010 election
Illinois gubernatorial election, 2010
An election for Governor of Illinois was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, sought and was elected to a full term. Quinn was elected as the Democratic nominee, the Green Party nominee was Rich Whitney, the Republican nominee was State Senator Bill Brady, the...
showed that Whitney
finished with 99,625 votes (2.7% of the total), placing fourth: ahead of Libertarian Lex Green
Lex Green
This article directs to Lex Green from Illinois, for Florida Representative Robert Alexis Green, see Robert A. GreenLex Green is an Illinois politician and electrician who is the Illinois Libertarian Party's nominee for Governor of Illinois in the 2010 Election. His running mate for Lt...
but behind Scott Lee Cohen
Scott Lee Cohen
Scott Lee Cohen is an American politician and businessman who won the Democratic Party's 2010 nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, then withdrew under pressure shortly after the primary following revelations about his personal life and questions about his background...
, who ran as an Independent.
See also
- Illinois Green PartyIllinois Green PartyThe Illinois Green Party is a statewide political party in Illinois.The party is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. Its stated mission and purpose are to advance the Ten Key Values of the Green Party in Illinois through political means and to support individual members and the...
- Green Party of the United States
- Illinois gubernatorial election, 2006Illinois gubernatorial election, 2006The Illinois gubernatorial election of 2006 occurred on November 7, 2006. The Governor of Illinois, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, won re-election for a four-year term scheduled to have ended on January 10, 2011. However, Blagojevich was impeached in 2009...
- Illinois gubernatorial election, 2010Illinois gubernatorial election, 2010An election for Governor of Illinois was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, sought and was elected to a full term. Quinn was elected as the Democratic nominee, the Green Party nominee was Rich Whitney, the Republican nominee was State Senator Bill Brady, the...
External links
- Whitney for Governor (Official Website)
- Rich Whitney for Governor on MySpace
- A look at Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for governor
- "Don't Fear the Spoiler: Why it's (probably) safe to vote Green for governor" (Chicago Reader, Oct. 2006)
- "The Five Percent Rule" (Conscious Choice, Oct. 2006)
- Rich Whitney Illinois Green Party Gubernational Candidate Speaking at a press conference during the 2008 Green National Convention2008 Green National ConventionThe 2008 Green National Convention took place on July 10-14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois at the Palmer House Hilton and Symphony Center. This served as both the venue for the Presidential Nominating Convention and the Annual Meeting of the Green Party of the United States.-Venues:The convention was...
- Rich Whitney, Green Party Governor Candidate, Announces Budget Proposals (Huffington Post, March 11, 2010)