Monday, February 8, 2010
CHICAGO, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The winner of the Illinois Democratic lieutenant governor primary has dropped out of the race following revelations about his background, officials confirmed.
Pawnbroker Scott Lee Cohen made the announcement Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reported.
"For the good of the people of the state of Illinois and for the Democratic Party, I will resign," an emotional Cohen said to supporters.
When he was a candidate, Cohen said a 2005 domestic battery case against him had been dismissed. It was revealed after he won the primary that his girlfriend at the time was a prostitute who accused him of threatening her with a knife, and the charge was dismissed only because she failed to appear in court, the Tribune reported.
Cohen admitted using steroids, allegedly failed to make child support payments and has been named in dozens of lawsuits in connection with back taxes, the newspaper said.
A spokesman for Michael Madigan, Democratic Party chairman and Illinois House speaker, said work would begin immediately to select a replacement candidate.
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Comments
Jim (anonymous) says...
This is disgusting! Why didn't this come out before the election? Were the newspapers and electronic media just not doing their job, or were they trying to hide the information so this guy would get nominated?
February 8, 2010 at 5:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rune04 (anonymous) says...
What a shame he dropped out, seems like he had all of the prerequisites of an IL politician.
February 8, 2010 at 7:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jmf_stl (anonymous) says...
Jim, didn't you notice this guy is a democrat? The mainstream media does not look into democrats as we all know they do no wrong. I just wonder why he dropped out? With his background and experiences, especially the back taxes part, he seems like the perfect candidate for Illinois and the democrat party as a whole. Add to it, he is from Chicago which is always a plus.
February 8, 2010 at 7:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )