Former Illinois Gov. James Thompson, 'Big Jim,' dies at 84

[RandySF]

CHICAGO — Former Illinois Gov. James R. Thompson, known as “Big Jim” during a long career that eventually made him the state’s longest-serving chief executive, has died. He was 84.

Thompson died shortly after 8 p.m. Friday at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, his wife, Jayne, told the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. The Tribune, citing a police report, reported Thompson had been recovering there for several weeks after suffering heart problems.

“It was very sudden,” Jayne Thompson told the Tribune. “I was told that his heart simply stopped.”

“As the longest-serving governor in Illinois history, ‘Big Jim’ was known to treat people he encountered with kindness and decency,” Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement Saturday. “Jim dedicated himself to building positive change for Illinois, and he set an example for public service of which Illinoisans should be proud.”


https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/15/illinois-governor-jim-thompson-dies-395782

[ProfessorGAC]

1. The Biggest Crook That Never Got Caught

He was dirtier than Kerner, Walker, Ryan & Blagoevich, but they went to prison.
Thompson should have, too. He just didn't get caught. His single greatest skill was covering his tracks.
JB is just being diplomatic.
Everybody in Illinois government knew the truth.

[rurallib]

2. We live a state over and get TV from Illinois - I seem to remember it the way you say

[ProfessorGAC]

4. One Example

Revealed about 10 years ago, but confirmed 6-7 years back.
Thompson was a partner in a giant Chicago law firm.
State law says the state can't do any business with that form.. They got none. So far, so good.
There was a back channel set up so as state business was contracted to other big firms, those firms were paid a premium for their work.
The delta was passed on to the firm in which he was a partner. Those firms that did the work considered that pass on as good will expense. They got the contracts due to their relationship with Thompson's firm.
It's not illegal for them to do this. They didn't actually have to pass on, because there was no entitlement to that $ to his firm. But, they did it.
His firm showed added revenue above expenses, meaning bigger bonuses for partners.
Even though it looked like they met the letter of the law, they didn't. What they did was actually spelled out in the statute. So, he got much wealthier of tax payer money.
But, since this all came out long after he left office, it created barely a ripple. Everybody was chomping on Blagoevich or Rauner (2 more shady characters) and basically ignored proof of law breaking.
The stuff he did with agribusiness made what I just described look like shoplifting a candy bar.

[murielm99]

3. I suppose Pritzker has to be diplomatic.

[whistler162]

5. Interesting

He probably graduated from North Park, then a two-year school, a year after my father.