Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White Plans to Retire when his Term Ends
Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, the only African American official serving in a statewide office, says he plans to retire when his term ends in 2019.
White, 81, made the announcement at the Illinois State Fair last week.
“I reiterated last week at the Illinois State Fair that I would not be seeking re-election,” White said in statement Monday. “I will complete this -- my fifth term – as Illinois secretary of state in January 2019. I am proud of the accomplishments we have achieved in this office: restoring integrity, upgrading customer service and making the roads safer.”
After he leaves office, he said he will continue his efforts aimed at helping at-risk youth by continuing to work with the internationally known Jesse White Tumbling team and “other philanthropic and charitable efforts.
“While I will not be running for re-election, I will continue to stay involved in the political process,” he said.
White has served as Secretary of State for five terms since 1998.
Several black officials said his planned exit will recreate a huge vacuum in the state’s Democrat Party and among African American leaders.
“African American politicians and the African American community will have to do everything it can to try to insure that there will be another African-American to not only take his place but certainly a statewide elected position,” said U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (Dist. 7th).
State Rep. LaShawn Ford (Dist.-8th) said because of White’s long service that a black or Hispanic should be on the ticket to replace him.
“You probably have to have a black on that ticket, otherwise it just wouldn’t be Illinois.”
State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, (Dist-4th), had a similar view.
“Hopefully, he will be replaced by an African American,” said Lightford, assistant majority leader of the Senate. “But he has provided adequate time for a successor. That says a lot about his character.”
Lightford didn’t name any possible successors but acknowledged the field could include anyone, including herself.
“You can say, don’t rule me out,” Lightford told the Chicago Citizen Newspaper. “It is way too early.
At the same time, Lightford said she is aware that sometimes “opportunities come once in a lifetime.”
Another possible contender could be White’s protégé Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th Ward), who White tapped last year to fill his Democratic Committeeman spot.
Burnett, who has known White since he was a youth, said he wasn’t sure if he would seek White’s office and also said he wasn’t sure if White would really retire.
“Whatever he chooses to do is fine with me,” Burnett said. “I love him like a father. He was a renaissance man.”
White, who played minor league baseball for the Chicago Cubs organization, served as a Cook County Recorder of Deeds from 1992-96. Before that post, he spent 16 years as Illinois state representative of the 13th district.
White, a former Chicago Public schools teacher and administrator, started the Jesse White Tumbling team in 1959.
White, an Alton, Ill., native, was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army.
He graduated from Alabama State University in 1957.
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