Illinois lt. gov. candidate who withdrew amid scandal allegations says he’ll run for governor

Ex-Ill. lt. gov. candidate to run for governor

CHICAGO — A pawnbroker who won Illinois’ Democratic primary for lieutenant governor only to withdraw amid scandal allegations announced Monday he would run for governor as an independent.

Scott Lee Cohen quit the lieutenant governor’s race in February amid accusations that he had failed to pay child support, taken steroids, abused his ex-wife and held a knife to his girlfriend’s throat.

Cohen, who has admitted to past steroid use but denied the other allegations, stepped down because of political pressure.

“Everybody, everybody makes mistakes in their life. Everybody’s entitled to a second chance and everybody is entitled to redemption,” Cohen said while announcing his bid outside the state of Illinois building in downtown Chicago.

But it won’t be easy for Cohen to get the political redemption he’s seeking. He must collect 25,000 signatures from registered voters by June 21 to get on the November ballot. He says he’s not worried about the daunting task.

If he’s successful, Cohen would face Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, Republican state Sen. Bill Brady and Green Party candidate Rich Whitney.

Quinn said he wouldn’t be worried about running against Cohen.

“If he wants to run against me for governor, well, you’d better be prepared for the fight of your life,” Quinn told reporters.

In a statement, Brady’s campaign said it’s fighting for a “clean break from the old politics in Illinois” no matter who’s on the ballot. Whitney said he’s “not overly concerned” about Cohen’s possible entry into the race, according to a statement on his website.

Cohen, who spent $2 million — most of it his own money — to win the lieutenant governor primary, declined to say how much he would pony up this time around. He acknowledged he would have to spend his own money, but said he believes supporters will also donate to his campaign.

Cohen said he was not concerned about possibly scuttling Democrats’ chances in November by siphoning off votes from Quinn in what is shaping up to be a tight race with Brady.

“What’s truly important is not the Democratic Party, not the Republican Party and not myself. It’s the people of Illinois who are important,” he said.

Cohen has not picked a running mate but said he is considering several people for the post. He encouraged anyone interested in the job to reach out to him.

“I’m a man of the people. And I ask anybody who is interested in running with me to come forward to send me their resume, to call me and I will consider that,” he said.

Cohen defended his qualifications to be governor by asking, “What was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s qualifications for being governor,” referring to California’s governor.

Chicago resident Thomas Hudson said he wasn’t swayed by Cohen’s latest bid for office.

“It’s too late to be jumping around, if he wanted to stay in he should have just stayed in as lieutenant governor,” Hudson said.

But 77-year-old retiree Josephine Smith, of Chicago, said she’s willing to take another look at Cohen and that his past troubles don’t automatically disqualify him as a candidate.

“What else is new,” she said.

Cohen said he couldn’t have stayed on the ballot as lieutenant governor after a firestorm erupted over his personal life.

“Because I’m a political outsider, the party didn’t want me. Therefore if I … stayed on the ballot and we won I was going to be locked in a room,” he said.

Democratic officials pushed Cohen to drop out after it became widely known that his ex-wife had accused Cohen of violent behavior and that he had been arrested for holding a knife to the throat of an ex-girlfriend. Cohen has denied the abuse allegations and charges stemming from his arrest were dropped when the girlfriend didn’t show up in court.

While Cohen has admitted to past steroid use, he told Chicago Magazine that allegations about skipping child support payments were a “misunderstanding.” Cohen spokesman John E. Davis said he is paid up on child support.