Political Quotes

“on Saturday morning, in the early morning hours, my wife and I received a telephone call that was a shock to us. A dear friend and close political ally of ours, State Senator Penny Severns of Decatur, IL, had succumbed to cancer in the early morning hours. I have literally known Penny Severns for over 25 years, since she was a college student. I followed her political career. We had become close and fast friends. The outpouring of genuine warmth and affection for Penny that we have heard over the last few days since the announcement of her death has been amazing. Penny Severns was 46 years old. A little over 3½ years ago, she was running for Lieutenant Governor in the State of Illinois, and she discovered during the course of the campaign that she had breast cancer. I think most people, upon hearing that they had cancer, would stop in their tracks, would not take another day on the job, would head for the hospital and the doctor and say that the rest of this could wait. But not Penny Severns. She announced that she was going through the chemotherapy and radiation and then would return to the campaign trail. And she did. I will tell you, in doing that, she inspired so many of us because her strength, her caring, her spirit, were just so obvious. She finished that campaign and was reelected to the State Senate and announced last year she was going to run for secretary of state in our State of Illinois.”