ILLINOIS – Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar has died at the age of 79. Edgar, who served as governor from 1991 to 1999.
What we know:
He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February. He underwent treatment in Arizona and Illinois.
Edgar, originally from Charleston, Illinois, served in state government for decades.
He was first elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1976 and later served as Secretary of State before becoming governor in 1991. He was re-elected in 1994, winning 101 of the state’s 102 counties.
Former Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka and former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar after an Illinois Business Immigration Coalition event on April 22, 2014, at the Chicago Club, in Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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