THE ILLINOIZE: Friends and colleagues remember Sen. Scott Bennett...Who was the most important person in Illinois politics in 2022?
December 20, 2022
Good morning, Illinois.
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Let’s get to it.
BENNETT REMEMBERED AS “BEST KIND OF FRIEND”
Tributes to Senator Scott Bennett Monday brought tears, laughs, and memories to the Champaign lawmaker who passed away December 9.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Illinois campus to remember Bennett, who died at just 45 as the result of a previously undiagnosed brain tumor.
Moved to tears, Senate President Don Harmon reflected on Bennett’s kindness.
“Senator Scott Bennett was a unique creature. In an era of soaring political egos and red meat rhetoric, Scott proudly took a different path,” he said. “He was first and foremost a good and decent human being who brought that graciousness to public office.”
State Treasurer Mike Frerichs, one of Bennett’s best friends, joked he felt more comfortable about speaking while dealing with his emotions at the service until Harmon broke into tears.
“Damn you, Don Harmon,” Frerichs said to laughter. “You started this all over again.”
Bennett replaced Frerichs in the Senate when Frerichs was elected statewide in 2014.
“Scott was the best kind of friend. The one that doesn’t need a modifier. He was just a friend,” Frerichs said. “He wasn’t a political friend or a Senate friend. He was just a friend.”
Governor JB Pritzker praised Bennett’s efficacy in the Senate.
“Scott was an incredibly effective lawmaker in part because he infused humor into our lives while demonstrating the most enviable traits, like extraordinary integrity and radical compassion,” Pritzker said. “When things got heated, like they sometimes do under the dome, we could always count on Scott for a good dad joke.”
Bennett was praised for his moderate politics.
“Scott was also special because he didn’t buy in to party politics. Yes, he was a loyal Democrat, but what was more important to him than what party you belonged to was your heart and the work you were trying to do,” said Champaign Mayor Deb Frank Feinen. “Scott reached across the aisle to try and work with everyone and anyone that had similar goals as him.”
Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz, Bennett’s former boss, said his passion for doing the right thing sometimes led to Bennett receiving criticism.
“Scott took his abilities to find that middle ground along with his passion for protecting children with him when he went to the Senate,” she said. “Politically, we all know Scott was a moderate. A friend recently described being a moderate as standing in the middle of a two lane road with traffic going in both directions. You get hit from both sides.”
Former Sen. Rachelle Crowe, now the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, was one of Bennett’s closest confidantes in the Senate. She described the way Bennett dealt with people on all sides.
“He had the great attribute of caring so much that he made each of us feel special. What a gift it was,” Crowe said. “It’s hard to think of many people who are to even a few as Scott was to all of us.”
Rep. Tom Bennett (R-Gibson City), Bennett’s uncle spoke of his time each fall working on the family farm in Ford County.
“Over the last several years, Scott would drive a semi, hauling grain to the local elevator. He was so proud the day he got his CDL,” Tom Bennett said. “When he was on the farm waiting on his semi [trailer] to fill up, he would send e-mails and make phone calls to Springfield, constituents, and others. He loved the harvest.”
But it was Bennett’s commitment to family, his wife and two children, that strung through all comments during Monday’s memorial.
“The countless times we would talk or text it was always clear that his family was the most important thing in his life,” Feinen said. “He drove home during session so he could spend time with them. He was present even with the demands of his job. They were his reason for being.”
Frerichs encouraged mourners to be more like Bennett and to make their lives more impactful.
“I like to think that Scott doesn’t have to be gone. Scott can live on in every one of us in this room,” Frerichs said. “Let his life be an example to push you as well, to give more back to your communities, to commit more toward your families, and to help your friends be a better version of themselves. I know Scott did that for me.”
A fundraiser for Bennett’s family remains active on the MealTrain website.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN ILLINOIS POLITICS IN 2022
As we look back on the high stakes political year in Illinois, The Illinoize asked a bipartisan group of politicians, consultants, and journalists who the most important person in Illinois politics was in 2022.
Governor JB Pritzker and outgoing Congressman Adam Kinzinger received the most nominations. Here were some of the responses we received:
Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield)- Sen. Darren Bailey
“The primary was about him. The general election was about him. The cycle was defined by him.”
Former Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady- Congressman Adam Kinzinger
“Courage used to be rewarded in politics.”
Congresswoman-Elect Nikki Budzinski- Sen. Scott Bennett
“Most personal to me was my late friend, State Senator Scott Bennett. Scott led with kindness, humor, and compassion, and his passing reminds us all to do the most good possible with the time we have here. I’m inspired to lead by his example in my public service.”
Jim Dey, Champaign News-Gazette columnist- JB Pritzker
“Whether one likes or dislikes Gov. Pritzker, he’s clearly the big man in Illinois, at least for now. He won a resounding re-election victory, albeit against weak opposition. He gets what he wants, or says he wants, from the Democratic legislature. He’s so satisfied with his accomplishments that he’s flirting with running for president. His public agenda reflects that status, including his emphatically leftist political platform. He’s on a huge roll and he knows it.”
RTA Chairman and former Sen. Kirk Dillard- JB Pritzker
“He set the tone early delivering money to help define Darren Bailey and effectively outlined the Democrats’ themes against the GOP up and down the statewide ticket, including the Supreme Court. It sure helps to pick your opponent, even if it is the other party’s primary!”
Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton)- Campaign Staff
“They are, by far, the most important people in Illinois politics. Without dedicated staff who pour their heart and soul into races, with no promise of having a job after the election is over, we candidates would be lost and would surely make many more devastating mistakes and gaffes. They want the wins as much as we do and work extremely hard, sometimes harder than the candidate does. [For me] in this election are Stephen Stewart, Jayme Siemer, and Deb Detmers. I’m forever grateful to them and many others.”
Fmr. Congressman Bill Enyart- JB Pritzker and Congressman Adam Kinzinger
“Pritzker for his blowout win and massive improvement of the state’s financial position. Kinzinger for his courageous stand for democracy when almost every other national Republican ran for cover.”
Paul Lisnek, WGN-TV Political Analyst- Congressman Adam Kinzinger
“He stayed true to conservative values, showed moral courage knowing he would be excommunicated by his party and constituents in the name of patriotism.”
Rep. Mike Marron (R-Fithian)- Ken Griffin
“He messed around in the Republican primary and then pulled the ripcord before it was even over, leaving us all high and dry. I hope we’ve all learned that ‘billionaire politics’ has failed.”
Scott Reeder, columnist, Illinois Times- Supreme Court Justice Mary K. O’Brien
“She personifies the depth of the Democratic Party’s bench. She was able to win a toss-up district that Democrats wanted but didn’t need.”
Fmr. Rep. Ron Sandack- JB Pritzker
“It’s Pritzker, unfortunately. His enormous personal expenditures in the Republican gubernatorial primary made it that he basically picked his general election opponent who he dispatched easily with his even more massive personal expenditures in the general election. With is fast fortune, he seemingly owns Illinois politics from both sides of the political divide.”
Fmr. Congressman John Shimkus- JB Pritzker
“With the caveat that I supported Mayor Richard Irvin in the Republican primary and voted for Senator Darren Bailey for governor in the general election, without a doubt it was Governor Pritzker. First, he spent a lot of personal money in the Republican primary to get a weaker opponent in Bailey. Of course, his willing accomplice was the Democratic Governors’ Association. He also used his personal wealth to support local Democratic organizations and candidates. He signed what many consider the most gerrymandered congressional map [in state history], leading to the loss of two Republican members of Congrss. He also solidified Democrat representation in the General Assembly. All this, I view as negative.”
Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley)- Mike Zolnerowicz, GOP consultant
“The result of his failed attempt to orchestrate the Governor’s race led to chaos in the election that eventually cost us two Supreme Court seats, at least two congressional seats, and numerous legislative seats. And I’m sure it was one of the deciding factors in Ken Griffin’s move [to Florida] as well.”
Fmr. Rep. Litesa Wallace- Congresswoman Robin Kelly
“Despite no longer being chare of the Democratic Party of Illinois, she and [former Executive Director] Abby Witt, amid the task of rebranding the party as more inclusive, laid a foundation that would go on to deliver an unprecedented supermajority in the Illinois House and maintain a strong Democratic delegation in Congress, despite the loss of a congressional seat, in the general election.”
Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford)- Speaker Chris Welch
“He exceeded expectations when it came to supporting his incumbent members for re-election, bringing new members in and helping our Supreme Court candidates to be elected as well.”
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