Quinn and Brady Await Final Count in Tight Gov Race

The race for Illinois governor is still up in the air. Republican State Senator Bill Brady ended election night trailing Democrat Pat Quinn by about 8300 votes. But he did not concede the race.

"Some of you may have realized by now I have a penchant for close elections", said Brady jokingly. That's a reference to his Republican primary win over State Senator Kirk Dillard - which came down to just about 100 votes. Plus, in his first campaign win, Brady defeated longtime incumbent Gordon Ropp in the 1002 GOP Illinois House primary by just eight votes.

Brady campaign spokeswoman Patty Schuh says they want to ensure that every ballot is counted. She says there's still absentee ballots to count - in addition to others that weren't reported late Tuesday night

Burt Odelson is the attorney for Quinn's campaign. He said Tuesday night that he'll monitor the incoming figures. But he said then ... when 11 thousand votes separated the leading candidates .... he considered the race over.

"There not enough votes down state to make up the difference between what's left in Cook County and what's left downstate", says Odelson. "So Pat Quinn's going to win the election."

Once all votes are counted, the Illinois State Board of Elections must certify the results.

At that point ... the loser can ask for a "discovery recount." That enables him to check over a quarter of the ballots in each jurisdiction. If the candidate believes it's warranted, he may contest the election.