Andy McKenna enters Illinois governor's race

Former Republican Party chief jumps in with jibe at Gov. Quinn

It’s no longer just comedians making fun of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s huge head of hair.

Former state Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna jumped into the governor’s race Tuesday — and promptly showed a video making political hay out of Blago’s frock.

The video superimposed Blagojevich’s famous haircut over the dome of the state capitol, former Gov. George Ryan’s head and even over the heads of cabbies and babies — which McKenna used to symbolize the culture of corruption that he says has taken over Springfield.

As an “outsider,’’ he said while announcing his candidacy at a West Side greenhouse, he plans to end that culture.

“My company has never done business with the state,” McKenna said of his family’s Schwarz Paper Co.

McKenna even invoked hair in his vow not to be like the leading Democratic candidates for governor, who advocate raising taxes on the wealthiest state residents to fix the state’s budget problems.

Gov. “Pat Quinn said he would be different than Rod Blagojevich, but, when it comes to taxes, he’s Rod Blagojevich with just a little bit less hair. He’s more of the same,’’ McKenna said.

Quinn spokeswoman Elizabeth Austn said she doubted anyone could confuse Quinn and Blagojevich: “I think anyone who looks at Gov. Quinn’s budget proposal for the current year will find an honest representation of a way to meet the state’s current fiscal crisis, while providing tax relief to millions of Illinois taxpayers.”

McKenna’s Republican opponents in the primary were quick to criticize him, saying he used Republican party money to conduct polls testing his name and others for state office. They said he then sat down with each of his potential rivals to sound them out on how they would raise money to finance their campaigns — before he jumped into the race himself.

“While Andy talked of party unity, he was quietly testing his own viability for office on the Illinois Republican Party dime,” said one of his rivals, DuPage County Chairman Bob Schillerstrom.

McKenna denied usurping party funds for his own benefit, and said the party conducts polls all the time on a number of topics.

McKenna is the sixth Republican to enter the race. Former Attorney General Jim Ryan is expected to become the seventh.

McKenna is the first candidate to enter the race with a running mate, Illinois state Sen. Matt. Murphy (R-Palatine), who he noted led the fight to roll back Cook County's sales tax hike.

Pressed for an example of the "outrageous spending" he would cut as governor, McKenna turned to Murphy and noted the state was still spending 2.5 million a year on the lieutenant' governor's office even though the state has no lieutenant governor now.

A spokesman for Quinn said McKenna is wrong -- the budget for lieutenant governor has been zeroed out since Quinn ascended to governor. No one works there anymore.