By Illinois Radio Network
Chicago, IL – Though he has not formally announced it yet, Green Party candidate Rich Whitney says he'll run for governor in 2010.
Whitney ran in 2006 and gathered nearly 11 percent of the popular vote, which made the Greens an established party under Illinois law.
Since former Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office, Whitney says Illinois has taken some steps in the right direction, but not enough. He says Illinois still has a long way to go in terms of progressive tax, campaign finance and ethics reform.
Whitney says the current gubernatorial candidates wouldn't measure up.
Whitney says the Green Party is growing, and does so every election. In 2008, he says 53 candidates ran for offices ranging from county board to president of the United States, and some of those candidates received 30 percent of the popular vote. The Greens held their first ever primary last year.
