Schillerstrom drops out of gov.'s race, backs Ryan

Naperville Republican Bob Schillerstrom dropped his bid for governor Friday and threw his weight in DuPage County behind former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan.

"I'm a pragmatic individual and at the end of the day I didn't think I could win," Schillerstrom said at Chicago news conference with Ryan. "The unfortunate problem is that we couldn't raise the resources ... we couldn't get our message out."

The elimination of Schillerstrom, whose name will still remain on the ballot because they have already been printed, shortens up the packed primary field to six candidates. He was the lone Republican candidate touting a "moderate" position on social issues like abortion and gun control.

The move reduces competition in the Republican bastion of DuPage County for other suburban candidates like Ryan and state Sen. Kirk Dillard, who said in a statement Friday he had "enjoyed " working with Schillerstrom while not mentioning Ryan.

Dillard pointed out, however, that he used to head the DuPage County Republican Party.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=353039