Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 7, 1993                   TAG: 9309070010
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SPRINGFIELD, ILL.                                LENGTH: Medium

POLITICAL HISTORY: WOMEN SEEK ALL 5 TOP POSTS IN ILL.

For the first time in the United States, according to two national groups, women are pursuing all of a state's five top elected posts.

In the 1994 election, women want to take over the offices of governor, treasurer, comptroller, attorney general and secretary of state.

"This is an important state to watch. Anytime you have a record number of women running . . . you can change the face of government," said Pat Reilly, a spokeswoman for the National Women's Political Caucus in Washington, D.C.

"Illinois was really the first state out of the gate to mark the `Year of the Woman' in politics," she said.

Susan Carroll, senior researcher for Rutgers University's Center for the American Woman and Politics in New Jersey, cites a combination of factors, including Anita Hill's testimony at the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

"A collective click took place, and people realized that when women are not present the sensitivity on certain kinds of issues is just not likely to be there," she said.

Kansas state Rep. Jo Ann Pottorff, former chairwoman of the Women's Network for the National Conference of State Legislators, said voters consider women accessible, and female candidates are capitalizing on that.

"The public sees women as almost closer to the people," she said. "Women have run a household; they've raised families. Although a man's part of that, women are the more nurturing individuals."

In Illinois, some women formally announced for the 1994 race, and others say they will announce this fall.

Democratic Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch is running for governor. Democratic state Sen. Earlean Collins and Loleta Didrickson, Republican director of the Department of Employment Security, want the comptroller's chair.

Democratic state Sen. Penny Severns and Republican state Sen. Judy Baar Topinka are up for the treasurer's spot, along with Democrats Sheila Smith, a businesswoman, and Nancy Drew Sheehan, a commissioner on the Cook County Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.

Kane County Coroner Mary Lou Kearns, a Democrat, announced a bid for secretary of state, and Chicago lawyer Anne Burke said she will run for attorney general.

"I don't know of any other state where that number of candidate spots are being contested by women," Carroll said.

Donald M. Totten, campaign manager for attorney-general hopeful Jim Ryan, said that depending on the office sought, female candidates can capitalize on some policy issues. He pointed to Carol Moseley-Braun's successful campaign against U.S. Sen. Alan Dixon.

Angered by the Hill-Thomas controversy, Moseley-Braun flaunted her feminist credentials and promised to send a message to the nation's most exclusive club.

The candidates, political analysts and voters differ on what led to the wellspring of women running in Illinois.

Topinka said that women have been in the political pipeline for years and that the increased number this year "is normal evolution." Netsch said the Hill-Thomas controversy broke the barrier.

Kearns said voters are tired of politics, and believe women are more trustworthy and savvy.

Carroll and Severns said the 1992 successes of women politicians have encouraged others.

Keywords:
POLITICS