Former Gov. Jim Edgar remembered as the 'gold standard' of public service at Springfield funeral

SPRINGFIELD — Hundreds celebrated the life and mourned the death of former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar in services Saturday at Central Baptist Church. Political leaders, friends and relatives remembered the Republican as a “steadfast leader,” with a love for horses, reading and chocolate cake.

Edgar, 79, died Sept. 14 due to complications from pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed in January and was receiving treatment in Springfield.

In a pre-recorded video played during Saturday’s service, Edgar said he “had a good run.”

“If I don't get 10 more years like I'd hoped to get, at least I got probably 75 years of good time,” Edgar said in the video.

He was a two-term Republican governor, leading the state through much of the 1990s. He won re-election with the widest plurality any incumbent Illinois governor had ever received, securing all 102 counties except downstate Gallatin County.

Many who worked in his cabinet remember Edgar, who was raised in Charleston, as someone who united Cook County and the collar counties with downstate Illinois. Despite his popularity and pressure from Republicans to run for the U.S. Senate, Edgar refused to run for a historic third term as governor.

In the 1960s, the Edgar family regularly attended Springfield’s Central Baptist Church, across the street from the governor's mansion and about four blocks from the state Capitol. The church’s bells rang low and steady as the hearse carrying Edgar’s wooden casket pulled into the driveway.

The Rev. J.A. Stang said they were the same bells that rang during Abraham Lincoln’s funeral in 1865.

“We are honored to ring that very same bell for another remarkable man,” Stang said.

Like Lincoln, Edgar was known for his willingness to work across the aisle. Edgar, a moderate Republican, supported abortion access while also being a fiscal conservative. Last year, he endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in her bid for president over Donald Trump.

Felicia Norwood said Edgar never asked her what political party she belonged to. She was brought on as his senior policy adviser at the start of his first gubernatorial term in 1991. Norwood called him “demanding, but very fair.”

“He asked me whether I had a passion for service,” Norwood said. “We worked together for long hours, tackling some of the state's biggest challenges as a team. We challenged each other.”

Many of his former staff members attended the service, and had also visited the state Capitol a day earlier to pay their respects to Edgar as he lay in state.

Janet Mathis was Edgar’s press secretary. Mathis had traveled from Geneseo, a small town near the Quad Cities area about 150 miles from Springfield. She now runs the Edgar Fellows program at the University of Illinois — a program spearheaded by Edgar in 2012 to train up leaders in public policy. Mathis said the program has produced more than 500 fellows.

“He always held a true north, and that's something I appreciate about him,” Mathis said. He "led from the heart, solving problems for the people of Illinois.”

To Gov. JB Pritzker, Jim Edgar personified “good people.”

The Democrat was the first to eulogize him Saturday, calling Edgar “an icon of the great state of Illinois.” Pritzker and his wife, MK, were seated in the first pew, across the blue-carpeted aisle from Edgar’s immediate family.

“When I was first elected governor, I looked around for experienced mentors that I could rely upon for advice and guidance,” Pritzker said. “ Fortunately for me, Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar's values and judgment and service have been a model to follow.”

Pritzker remembers Edgar as being generous with his time, offering advice even as he struggled with health issues. As a fiscal conservative who inherited a $1 billion budget deficit upon becoming governor, Edgar told Pritzker that his most “important job is to pass a balanced budget.”

“Every time we passed a balanced budget, like an excited kid to a parent, I'd say, ‘Look! I did what you said I should do. I passed a balanced budget,'” Pritzker said. “He'd say, ‘Good job. Now do it again.'”

Several political luminaries attended the Saturday service, including former Gov. Pat Quinn, and Jayne Thompson, the widow of former Gov. Jim Thompson. Also attending were Rep. Nikki Budzinski, a Springfield Democrat, as well as Democratic and Republican leaders from the state Legislature.

Former Republican Rep. Ray LaHood called Edgar the “gold standard” for public service. Speaking at the pulpit, LaHood waved his arm over the crowd, saying Edgar’s lasting legacy would be the people he’s mentored, many of whom, he said, were sitting in the church’s pews.

“We've all had mentors, every one of us,” LaHood said. “And more than 500 people in the Edgar Fellows Program benefited from the mentorship of Jim Edgar.”

While he was a political mentor to many across the state, to Edgar’s grandchildren, he was “Papa,” or “Grandfather Sir.”

Jake Edgar Lowe remembers his grandfather having an endless collection of books, always taking a keen interest in what Jake and the other grandchildren were learning in school.

“One of the greatest gifts our grandfather gave us was his love of learning,” Lowe said. “He set an extraordinary example of what it means to be a lifelong learner.”

Dakota Edgar said he will, however, remember his grandfather for his love for food. He said his “Papa Jim” was forever in pursuit of the perfect piece of chocolate cake and preferred his meals to be hot, not lukewarm.

“His famous saying was, ‘You never know what your next meal will be, so you might as well enjoy the one in front of you,” Dakota Edgar said.

Mawa Iqbal covers state government and politics for WBEZ. Follow @Mawa Iqbal