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DURBIN, 2 OTHERS PLAN TO SEEK SENATE SEAT

A wide-open Democratic primary race to succeed U.S. Sen. Paul Simon in 1996 got under way Tuesday when three Democrats expressed their intentions to run for the seat.

U.S. Rep. Richard Durbin ended weeks of uncertainty about his plans by issuing a statement that he will run, putting his 12 years of seniority and a swing district in Congress on the line. Durbin, 50, said he will make a traditional statewide campaign trip within the next month to launch his candidacy.

“I want to make clear that I intend to run,” Durbin said in the first sentence of a nearly 600-word statement responding to doubts by some within the party that the Springfield Democrat would go through with the race.

Meanwhile, former Democratic National Committee Chairman David Wilhelm said he will establish his Senate campaign committee on Wednesday. And former state Treasurer Patrick Quinn said he expects to enter the primary race soon.

“I think I’m qualified to run for the Senate, and I’m definitely interested in it,” Quinn said, indicating that he will announce his candidacy “within a week or two.”

Wilhelm, an investment banker, and Quinn, a lawyer, are from Chicago. City Treasurer Miriam Santos also is exploring the Senate race. And lawyer Richard Devine, former president of the Chicago Park District board, Tuesday acknowledged his interest in the Senate seat and said he will make a decision whether to run by next week.

“The way I see it,” Quinn said, “there’s going to be a number of candidates running in the primary. That’s healthy for voters, especially when it’s an open seat.”

Simon, a second-term Democrat from Downstate Makanda, announced last November that he will retire when his term ends. He said Durbin was his choice as a successor.

But Durbin, a senior member of the Illinois delegation and a former appropriations subcommittee chairman, had trouble making up his mind, even after former Atty. Gen. Neil Hartigan and U.S. Rep. Lane Evans recently announced they wouldn’t run.

Durbin expressed relief at finally having come to terms with the decision, and he said there is no turning back now.

“I’m the only candidate in either party that’s put something on the table. I’m giving up a congressional seat that I worked very hard to win and keep in a swing district,” he said in a telephone interview from Washington.

“I hope it’s a demonstration of my commitment here. It’s a painful decision because of that. The burden of indecision is heavier than the burden of a campaign. I feel liberated, and who knows, I may even sleep tonight,” Durbin said.

Durbin criticized the Republican leadership in Congress and the Senate, accusing the GOP and its “special interest allies” of looking out for “a privileged and powerful few-at great cost and risk to the general public.”

Durbin promised to be an advocate for working families, and he cited instances when he went “toe-to-toe” in Congress with tobacco, oil and pharmaceutical interests.

Quinn, however, argued that he can deliver a stronger populist message and has better statewide campaign experience and name recognition. A former commissioner of the Cook County Board of (tax) Appeals, Quinn served one term as state treasurer before he lost a challenge to Republican Secretary of State George Ryan.

“I have strong feelings on issues, and the only way to be heard on them is to get into the ring. I’ve been in the arena,” Quinn said.

Lt. Gov. Bob Kustra, the leading GOP Senate prospect, said he is focused on fundraising and will make his announcement in the summer.