Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – It was a day for Republicans and Democrats to come together — likely, just as former Governor Jim Edgar would have wanted.
Edgar’s funeral was Saturday in downtown Springfield after passing away a week ago, bringing together family, friends, and political leaders.
The funeral was at Central Baptist Church, and its pastor says there was a good reason for that.
“This was the home church for the Edgar family for many years,” said Rev. Dr. JA Stang. “They joined in the fall of 1967. For decades this is the place where they attended service, attended Sunday school, and found lasting community. In fact, their son (Brad) was married in this sanctuary.”
The service brought together the congregations of the Central Baptist and Laurel United Methodist Churches and choirs.
Stang called Edgar “a truly remarkable individual” — sentiments echoed by the political leaders and family members who spoke, like Governor JB Pritzker.
“In the last few days, I’ve reflected on what I think everyone should know about Jim Edgar. But, it all boils down to this: he’s good people,” said Pritzker. “You can see that in his family, in Brenda and Brad and Elizabeth and the grandchildren. Your love for each other, your character, is a reflection of the goodness and love that Jim carried for you in his heart. You are his living legacy, and he was so proud of you.”
Pritzker says same goes for the people Edgar surrounded himself with during his public service, from State Representative to Governor. He says those people were always there for Edgar, then, and now.
That might be enough to say Jim Edgar had a good life, until that life was taken away by pancreatic cancer at the age of 79. But, former Congressman and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says that’s not even Edgar’s greatest legacy, in his view. It’s the Edgar Fellows program at the University of Illinois, and what it taught the people who went through it over the last ten-plus years.
“(It was) a learning experience about how to listen, and how to lead,” said LaHood. “The Edgar Fellows talked about integrity, and honesty, and transparency, and how to be a very good public servant.”
LaHood says the Edgar Fellows have become some very good people, same as Jim Edgar was.
