Ocotillo
09-26-2007, 10:41 AM
Maybe this should be in the political forum (http://www.pjstar.com/stories/092107/REG_BEE0HBMC.052.php)
Versace: 'I'm all in' House race
Former Bradley hoops coach plans to tour 18th District in 'Common Sense Express'
Friday, September 21, 2007
BY BRENDA ROTHERT
OF THE JOURNAL STAR
CANTON - Former NBA and Bradley basketball coach Dick Versace hopes to add another win to his record with a bid for Congress.
"I'm all in," Versace, a Democrat, said Thursday.
His confirmation ends several weeks of speculation about whether he would seek election for the 18th Congressional District seat held by Ray LaHood, who is not seeking re-election.
He said he'll hold a news conference to officially announce his bid in the next couple weeks. After that, Versace will take off in a 38-foot motor home he will call "The Common Sense Express."
"The Common Sense Express is going to visit all 20 counties in the district," he said. "I'm going to go on a listening tour."
Versace started his career as a teacher and later became a basketball coach, coaching at Bradley University from 1979 to 1986 and winning three Missouri Valley Conference championships and an NIT title. He later coached in the NBA, as an assistant coach for Detroit and head coach at Indiana. He was a television color commentator for Turner Broadcasting and NBC in Chicago and an assistant coach at Milwaukee. He also led an acquisition team to purchase the Vancouver Grizzlies and was president and later general manager of the team in Memphis.
Versace said he made a lot of friends during his years at Bradley.
"I feel a real debt of gratitude to the Peoria area. I had the most wonderful eight years of my life there," he said.
Versace is the second Democrat to announce his intentions. On Wednesday, Chuck Giger, 59, of
Chatham said he's running in the Feb. 5 primary, acknowledging it will be an uphill battle with little name recognition and no political experience. At least three Republicans have already announced they will seek the GOP nomination for the seat, which has been held by Republicans since 1917.
Versace and his wife Vicki, a real estate broker, have homes in Peoria and Chicago and a rural retreat home outside Canton.
The war in Iraq is one of Versace's top concerns. His older brother, Rocky, was executed in Vietnam after being captured while serving his second tour of duty. In 2002, he became the first prisoner of war to be posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor.
It's important to him that soldiers returning home from the Iraq War are given all the help they need.
"I hate the war, but I love the warriors," Versace said.
Versace said he wants to restore a sense of hope among the people in the 18th District.
"I've lived the American dream," he said. "I want all the people in Central Illinois to feel like it can happen to them, too."
Brenda Rothert can be reached at 686-3041 or [email protected].<0x00A0>
Versace: 'I'm all in' House race
Former Bradley hoops coach plans to tour 18th District in 'Common Sense Express'
Friday, September 21, 2007
BY BRENDA ROTHERT
OF THE JOURNAL STAR
CANTON - Former NBA and Bradley basketball coach Dick Versace hopes to add another win to his record with a bid for Congress.
"I'm all in," Versace, a Democrat, said Thursday.
His confirmation ends several weeks of speculation about whether he would seek election for the 18th Congressional District seat held by Ray LaHood, who is not seeking re-election.
He said he'll hold a news conference to officially announce his bid in the next couple weeks. After that, Versace will take off in a 38-foot motor home he will call "The Common Sense Express."
"The Common Sense Express is going to visit all 20 counties in the district," he said. "I'm going to go on a listening tour."
Versace started his career as a teacher and later became a basketball coach, coaching at Bradley University from 1979 to 1986 and winning three Missouri Valley Conference championships and an NIT title. He later coached in the NBA, as an assistant coach for Detroit and head coach at Indiana. He was a television color commentator for Turner Broadcasting and NBC in Chicago and an assistant coach at Milwaukee. He also led an acquisition team to purchase the Vancouver Grizzlies and was president and later general manager of the team in Memphis.
Versace said he made a lot of friends during his years at Bradley.
"I feel a real debt of gratitude to the Peoria area. I had the most wonderful eight years of my life there," he said.
Versace is the second Democrat to announce his intentions. On Wednesday, Chuck Giger, 59, of
Chatham said he's running in the Feb. 5 primary, acknowledging it will be an uphill battle with little name recognition and no political experience. At least three Republicans have already announced they will seek the GOP nomination for the seat, which has been held by Republicans since 1917.
Versace and his wife Vicki, a real estate broker, have homes in Peoria and Chicago and a rural retreat home outside Canton.
The war in Iraq is one of Versace's top concerns. His older brother, Rocky, was executed in Vietnam after being captured while serving his second tour of duty. In 2002, he became the first prisoner of war to be posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor.
It's important to him that soldiers returning home from the Iraq War are given all the help they need.
"I hate the war, but I love the warriors," Versace said.
Versace said he wants to restore a sense of hope among the people in the 18th District.
"I've lived the American dream," he said. "I want all the people in Central Illinois to feel like it can happen to them, too."
Brenda Rothert can be reached at 686-3041 or [email protected].<0x00A0>