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Sen. Raoul Won't Run For Governor

Kwame Raoul/Facebook

State Sen. Kwame Raoul says he's not jumping into the 2014 race for Illinois governor.  

The Chicago Democrat has been weighing a run for months and had boosted his fundraising.  
But he said in a statement Thursday he must focus on his role as chairman of a legislative conference committee that's working on Illinois' pension crisis.  
He says he made his decision after talking with his family and evaluating his resources. He also says he didn't want to ``create unnecessary divisions.''  

Raoul had been exploring a run for attorney general if Lisa Madigan chose to run for governor.  
When Madigan chose to seek re-election, Raoul said some colleagues encouraged him to challenge Gov. Pat Quinn and former White House chief of staff Bill Daley in the Democratic primary.