EXTRA: Quinn; He did it again!

How will Bill respond?

It was shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday and just moments after listening to Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Sheila Simon tell heartwarming stories about her children that Gov. Pat Quinn went ahead and declared himself the victor in Tuesday’s election for Illinois governor.

Quinn admits his margin of support is narrow (10,933 votes, he says). “I’d rather be ahead than 10,933 behind,” Quinn quipped.

“IT LOOKS LIKE another landslide is headed our way,” he said sarcastically.

It remains to be seen how this will be received, since Republican opponent William Brady went out of his way to avoid saying anything when he made his public statement shortly after midnight. I’m sure some GOP types will be angered at Quinn’s presumption – because it creates the perception that Quinn is the winner and that any future action that tries to deprive him of that victory is the work of a sore loser.

It’s the same tactic he used in the primary election, when he had only about a 5,000-vote lead over soon-to-be-former Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes – who wound up backing down a couple of days later. Will Bill Brady be as gracious? I doubt it.

And for what it’s worth, Quinn quoted from Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address, while showing off the campaign button he kept from the 1960 presidential election – one that John F. Kennedy only won in Illinois by about 8,000 votes.

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