CORRESPONDENCErnLetter From Chicagornby Thomas RoeserrnThe World TurnedrnUpside DownrnA truly startling, topsy-turvy race is beingrnrun for governor of Illinois. U.S. RepresentativernGlenn Poshard, the Democrat,rnis embracing more conservative positionsrnon culture and social policy; IllinoisrnSecretary of State George Ryan, thernRepublican, is running away with muchrnof the Democratic base, including gayrightsrnsupporters. On trade, Poshard hasrnsupported a Buchananite economic nationalismrnand opposed “Glean Air” Actrnamendments which would deprive coalminingrnSouthern Illinoisans of jobs;rnRyan endorses the free-trade model ofrnglobal economic citizenship espousedrnby most big corporations.rnAs we go to press, Ryan leads Poshardrnstatewide by 49 percent to 35 percent,rnwith 15 percent undecided—but muchrndepends on turnout and other uncontrollablernfactors. No matter how thernelection turns out, however, the race itselfrnwill have important repercussions.rnFor years, the Democratic Party of Illinoisrnhas been a weather vane of DemocraticrnParty philosophy in the nation. Afterrnthe 1948 election when the countryrndetermined it wanted Harry Truman’srnFair Deal, Illinois sent to the Senate exsocialistrneconomist Paul Douglas, tornwhom Truman turned to structure anrnearly prototype of Medicare. As the nationrnsought a less activist liberalism, Illinoisrnelected Alan Dixon. Most recently,rnit has sent to Washington Carol Moseley-rnBraun, who is the embodiment of soccerrnmoms concerned about protecting abortionrnrights, and Dick Durbin, who ranrnon a pro-choice, pro-gun-control platform.rnNow, as the nation seemingly turnsrnback to conservatism, Moseley-Braun isrnin serious trouble, and state Democratsrnhave nominated for governor a pro-life,rnpro-gun conservative. Poshard, a 52-rnyear-old Marion professor of educationrnwho coached football, basketball, andrntrack, came up the hard way in downstaternIllinois: His parents were so hard uprnthat at one time the family lived in a refurbishedrnchicken coop. Moving tornteaching assignments downstate, hernfound warm support for his coachingrnand down-home conviviality, supportrnwhich led him to the state senate and tornGongress, where he did the unthinkable:rnHe was the first incumbent to embrace arnvoluntary term limit often years. An eloquentrnspeaker of the William JenningsrnBryan school of populism, he stronglyrnsupported pro-life legislation, the rightsrnof gun owners, and economic nationalism.rnHis address to the House opposingrnpartial-birth abortion was exceeded inrnpassion only by that of Henry Hyde.rnWith this record, his bid for thernDemocratic gubernatorial nominationrnwas initially downgraded by most analysts.rnBut Illinois Democrats were tiredrnof nominating gubernatorial candidatesrnwho support high taxes and spout stringentrnpro-abortion and gay-rights rhetoric.rnHis opponents—a Glinton Justice Departmentrnaide, a Glinton ex-district attorney,rnand an African-American formerrnstate attorney general —split the liberalrnvote, while Poshard gained support fromrnregular party stalwarts tired of ferventrnliberaldom: Gongressman Bill Lipinski,rna pro-lifer from the southwest side ofrnGhicago; state House Speaker MikernMadigan; Alderman Edward Burke;rnJohn Daley, influential brother of GhicagornMayor Richard Daley; and TomrnHynes, powerful former Gook Gountyrnassessor. In the March 17 primary,rnPoshard won the nomination with 38.5rnpercent of the vote, with 62 percent ofrnhis vote coming from downstate (thernarea of Illinois outside of Gook Gountyrnand the collar counties of DuPage,rnKane, Lake, McHenry, and Will). Ofrnthe 611,000 votes cast in liberal GookrnGounty—home of Ghicago —Poshardrntotaled just 18.8 percent.rnPoshard’s opponent, George Ryan, is arn64-year-old veteran of Illinois politics:rnformer speaker of the Illinois house, lieutenantrngovernor, and current holder ofrnwhat is certainly the best job in the staternfor building a political machine, secretaryrnof state—a post that puts the incumbent’srnname on drivers’ licenses, billboards,rnand branch offices. In addition.rnthe canny Ryan convinced the GeneralrnAssembly to pass legislation which providedrnstate funds for organ donations,rnfunds which could be utilized for TVrncommercials encouraging widespreadrnparticipation. The result: Ryan appearedrnalmost daily with babies and grateful recipients.rnEarlier in his career, Ryan was anythingrnbut a liberal. A downstate pharmacist,rnhe collected supremely conservativerncredentials as a leading legislative pro-lifer.rnAs speaker, he blocked the passage ofrnthe ERA in the 1970’s, so angering feministsrnthat they poured buckets of calves’rnblood on the floor of the rotunda of thernstate capitol. Bodyguards were appointedrnto protect Ryan, while his phone linesrncrackled with invective from screamingrnliberal women vowing all kinds of physicalrndamage to him.rnBut something happened to Ryan followingrnhis ascension to the secretary ofrnstate’s post, as he prepared to run for governor.rnAlthough he had once written arnletter of praise to the NRA, citing the examplernof Tiananmen Square where governmentrnsuppression of guns throttledrndissent, he became one of the first “conservative”rnRepublicans to endorse thernBrady Bill. He still supports restrictionsrnon abortion, but with exceptions forrnrape, incest, and the health of the mother.rnHe even fought to tie himself to prochoicersrnon the state ticket, alienatingrnsome of his base. Rather than run with arnpro-life lieutenant governor, he recruitedrna pro-choice, one-term female staternhouse member from wealthy suburbanrncountry-club Lake Forest. Even worse,rnin the primary campaign for UnitedrnStates senator, he endorsed and campaignedrnferventiy for the pro-choice staterncomptroller over Peter Fitzgerald, arnyoung, bright, socially conservative staternsenator. Despite Ryan’s opposition,rnFitzgerald received the nomination andrnnow seems destined to defeat Moseley-rnBraun.rnThe most important question for socialrnconservatives in the general election,rnhowever, may be the issue of homosexuality.rnSince 1974, homosexual rightsrnforces have sought to win passage for arn”Human Rights” statute, which wouldrnprevent employers and rental propertyrnowners from exercising their discretionrnin hiring or renting. The bill declaresrn34/CHRONlCLESrnrnrn