State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is considering a run for governor. (Photo courtesy of Treasurer Rutherford's office)

By Stephanie Pawlowski

BLOOMINGTON - State Treasurer Dan Rutherford said he will wait until the current municipal election season is over before announcing a possible bid for governor.

But, in the meantime, he said his election team is analyzing ballots from previous races to make a case for running. He said if a Republican wants to win statewide, he or she will have to win over independents and voters in the Chicagoland area.

"Before I make this announcement, we've gone back and we've done an analysis on where we've performed," Rutherford said. "It's commonly known, if you want to win a statewide race in Illinois, you must get twenty percent of the city of Chicago and when we ran for state treasurer, we actually got 22 percent of the city of Chicago."

PODCAST: Listen to Rutherford on WJBC.

Rutherford said two years ago, he got more votes in the treasurer race than Republican Mark Kirk in the race for U.S. Senate.

Prison reform

Rutherford said if he does decide to run and if he is elected, he would create a long-range strategic plan for the capital assets of Illinois.

"Meaning our state prisons, our state mental health facilities," Rutherford said. "There is no strategic plan where we're going with these things. They're just reacting and respond when things happen."

Rutherford said a plan would prove prisons are overcrowded. He said he would also like to look at different types of rehabilitation, which as the rebuilding of Sheridan Prison in LaSalle County.

"That facility was deployed to be a drug rehab facility for the Illinois Department of Corrections, and my understanding is that it's doing a great job," Rutherford said.

Six Illinois prisons are setting up temporary housing for inmates because of expected overcrowding.

Stephanie Pawlowski can be reached at Stephanie.Pawlowski@cumulus.com