Hynes Concedes To Quinn In Illinois; GOP Race Still Undecided

It's over in Illinois, at least for the Democrats: state Comptroller Dan Hynes has conceded the gubernatorial primary to Gov. Pat Quinn.

The concession was in contrast to the pledge Hynes had made just the day before, when he said he would "continue fighting" until all the votes were counted. Quinn, even with the result seemingly unresolved, quickly claimed victory after Tuesday's primary, and even received a congratulatory phone call from President Obama. But as the count went on, Quinn's lead grew to about 8,100 votes — out of 900,000 cast — and the feeling in the Hynes camp was that there weren't enough outstanding votes to change the outcome.

The primary was personal and ugly, and though both candidates are white, race creeped in as an issue in the contest's waning days.

Quinn became governor just over a year ago, following the impeachment, conviction and ouster of Rod Blagojevich. The specter of Blago — who goes on trial June 3 on charges of trying to sell Barack Obama's old Senate seat to the highest bidder — as well as the contentious Democratic gubernatorial primary has given the GOP hope of recapturing the post. (It was Republican corruption that gave the Dems, and Blagojevich, the governorship in 2002.)

But Republicans are still sorting out who their nominee will be. With all the precincts reporting, Bill Brady holds a 406-vote lead over fellow state Sen. Kirk Dillard in a six-candidate field. It could be weeks before the Republican nominee is certified.

Meanwhile, as if the Democrats don't have enough trouble, the Chicago Tribune's Clout Street blog says there are "new questions" regarding the 2005 arrest of Scott Lee Cohen, who won the Democratic nomination for lt. governor. Cohen, a politically-unknown pawnbroker, had previously described his arrest "as an argument with his drunken girlfriend and said he didn't lay a hand on her, though she called the police and had him taken into custody":

But the official police and court records show that the woman alleged Cohen put a knife to her throat and pushed her head against the wall.

In their October 14 arrest report detailing the complaint from the 24-year-old woman, Chicago police noted they observed "mild abrasions from knife wound" on her neck. They also noted "minor scars on her hand from her trying to defend herself against the arrestee swinging the knife at her." The report notes the woman was seen by ambulance personnel but not taken to a hospital.

The case was dropped a month later when the woman did not show up for a court date.

Also, public records show that the alleged victim, Scott's 24-year-old girlfriend at the time, was a prostitute. Six months before the October 2005 incident, she had been arrested after a police investigation of a Glenview massage parlor. She later pleaded guilty to a charge of prostitution.

Through a spokesman Cohen said he did not know at the time that the woman was a prostitute and that she had told him she worked as a "massage therapist."

Cohen's spokesman said the woman's accusations about the assault were false, and pointed to the fact that the case was dropped as evidence that complaint was baseless. ...

Quinn said he had not yet spoken to Cohen. Asked about the dropped battery case, Quinn said he doesn't "like to have any opinions on things where I don't have the facts."

"One thing I was impressed with was he's committed to jobs," Quinn said. "I think he's had jobs fairs all over. I look forward to anybody who wants to get the economy moving again and good jobs for Illinois... anyone committed to that is OK with me."

Later Wednesday, when Quinn was asked about the specifics of the police report by the Tribune, he said "I think it's important that he explain exactly what went on there. I'm anxious to hear that."

Quinn called the allegations in the police report "troubling" but said he was not aware of any attempts to get Cohen off the ballot.