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Illinois Secretary Of State Says He'll Retire

Amanda Vinicky

  Jesse White’s days as the Illinois Secretary of State may be coming to a close.

Last August, he said he would not run for re-election.

But then, in April, he told WBEZ that he “may not be able to ride off into the sunset.” He said as a “loyal Democrat,” he might be drafted to try for a sixth term in 2018.

Supporters chanted "four more years!" as White took the podium last week at Democrats' state fair rally, “I receive a lot of phone calls from individuals, want me to continue down the path of being the Secretary of State, running one of the largest Secretary of State’s offices in the nation," he said.

But this time, White sounded more certain he won't give in.

“Right now, my answer is: I will not run," he said. "I have no intention of running.”

Secretary White is 82 years old.

Amanda Vinicky moved to Chicago Tonight on WTTW-TV PBS in 2017.