By AP/KWMU
Chicago, ILL. – Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar says he will not run for the U.S. senate seat being vacated by Peter Fitzgerald.
At a news conference in Chicago Friday morning, Edgar said he decided to stay out of politics for personal reasons. He says the decision is what is best for both him and his family.
Republican leaders from President Bush down to the state level had urged Edgar to run, seeing him as the party's best chance to keep the senate seat.
But Edgar says he's spent decades serving in government and he's enjoying the life he's made since leaving office. He's been
teaching at the University of Illinois and living in the Champaign-Urbana area.
The 56-year-old Republican was also encouraged to run for the Senate in 2002. He also seriously considered a run in 1998 before announcing his retirement from politics at the end of his second term as governor in January 1999.
Fitzgerald recently announced he will not run for re-election. He won the seat in 1998.