Lt. Gov. Wood reportedly to run for Illinois governor

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Pushing the Illinois Republican Party toward a potentially damaging primary battle, Republican Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood will formally announce her bid for governor Sunday, a source within her office said Monday.

Wood will join Attorney General Jim Ryan and state Sen. Patrick O'Malley of Palos Park in the March 2002 Republican primary election, said the source, who spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Officially, Wood's office will only say that she plans a major announcement Sunday afternoon in Chicago, followed by appearances around the state on Monday.

Wood is a former state representative tapped by Gov. George Ryan to be his running mate in 1998. The one-term legislator enters the race as a social moderate against Jim Ryan, a conservative, and O'Malley, who is to the right of the attorney general.

The three-way contest is Illinois' largest Republican primary in decades, and Wood's entry takes advantage of divisions within the party.

Some Republican leaders have made it known that they would not support the attorney general's candidacy and even looked to lure former Gov. Jim Edgar to come out of retirement. Although Edgar refused and supports the attorney general, others are backing Wood in the primary.

Has been raising money

Wood has been raising money for a gubernatorial bid but did not publicly consider running until the governor announced Aug. 8 that he would not run.

Her announcement will not come until the weekend, but she made her decision weeks ago, most notably when she started hiring prominent campaign staff and in lining up support from Republican county chairmen, the Chicago Tribune reported in Monday's editions. The Chicago Sun-Times and Arlington Heights Daily Herald also reported her plans.

For Wood to become Illinois' first female governor, her campaign aides acknowledge she must get the votes of moderate Republicans and independents.