Illinois Secretary Of State Race: Giannoulias, Brady Competing

ILLINOIS – For the first time this century, Jesse White's name will be missing from the ballot in the race for Illinois Secretary of State.

White, a Democrat elected in 1998, decided against running for a seventh term.

The two major party candidates are Democrat Alexi Giannoulias of Chicago and Republican Dan Brady of Bloomington.

In Illinois, the Secretary of State's Office has a number of duties, including issuing driver's licenses, maintaining state records and administering laws for registrations of corporations, lobbyists and notaries public.

Unlike most states, the office has nothing to do with elections, other than automatic voter registrations.

Four years ago, White, now 88, won with 68 percent of the vote, considerably higher than Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker's 54 percent. In 2002, White prevailed in all 102 Illinois counties, an unusual feat.

Both Giannoulias and Brady recently told ABC7 that they wanted to modernize and cut wait times in driver services offices.

"We want to modernize the office, bring new technology to the office. So we announced our skip-the-line program, which will allow people to actually schedule an appointment, get to the front of the line, so they don't have to wait, just like you do in the private sector," Giannoulias told the TV station.

Brady outlined the steps he wanted to take.

"I have many goals for addressing the issues of the office," Brady, a state representative since 2001, told Patch in a questionnaire earlier this year. "I would like to cut wait times in DMV facilities, improve technology, streamline services, cross-train employees, and offer more digital options. These are necessary changes that need to be made to enhance the Secretary of State's office."

Brady told ABC7 that he wanted to provide more remote services, including kiosks and grocery stores and libraries.

In a Rockford Register Star questionnaire, Brady said he wanted to strengthen state ethics laws to curb corruption, contending that doing so would restore faith and confidence.

Giannoulias sounded similar notes with the Register Star.

"As the keeper of politicians’ financial statements, I will toughen ethics laws, increase transparency and crack down on unethical behavior among politicians and lobbyists to curb corruption and abuse," he told the newspaper.

In the third quarter, Giannoulias raised $3.1 million to Brady's $320,000, according to state Board of Elections reports.