SPRINGFIELD, IL (December 3, 2001) – Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan has endorsed State Sen. Carl Hawkinson of The Covenant Church of Galesburg as his running mate for the March 2002 Republican primary.
Ryan, who serves as the state’s attorney general, is one of three Republican candidates for governor of Illinois. Current governor George Ryan (no relation) will not seek re-election next year. The current lieutenant governor, Corinne Wood, is one of Ryan’s primary election opponents.
The 54-year-old Hawkinson, a graduate of North Park College (now University) and Harvard Law School, has served 18 years in the Illinois Legislature, including four years in the state House of Representatives. During the past 14 years he has represented the 47th District in the Senate, where he chaired the Judiciary Committee. He previously served as a state’s attorney in Knox County. Last year, he lost an election for a vacant seat on the Illinois Supreme Court.
A native of Galesburg, Hawkinson is a member of his congregation’s Diaconate. He and his wife, Karen, have three children.
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