SPRINGFIELD - State Sen. Bill Brady will formally kick off his second bid for governor with a four-city fly-around Monday.

The 47-year-old Bloomington Republican, who received about 20 percent of the vote in the 2006 gubernatorial primary, is planning stops in Chicago, Springfield, Marion and Bloomington.

With his announcement, Brady becomes the first candidate to formally announce plans for the 2010 election.

As a conservative Republican, Brady said his campaign themes may hinge on what happens in the spring legislative session, where the Democrat-controlled House and Senate, as well as Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, are hinting at raising taxes to close a massive budget gap.

"Every day we hear about another possible tax increase," said Brady, a member of the General Assembly since 1992. "Someone has to stand up as a speaker for the taxpayers."

Prospective candidates for the 2010 election had been expected to begin announcing their plans in January, but the ouster of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich pushed back those plans.

Other Republicans mulling a run for governor include Doug Whitley, who has taken a leave of absence as president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce to consider a gubernatorial bid.

Whitley, a Kane County resident, served in former Gov. Jim Edgar's Cabinet, was a top telecommunications executive and served as a legislative aide in the Illinois House.

On the Democratic side, Quinn has not ruled out running for a full term. Other names that have surfaced include Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Comptroller Dan Hynes.

In 2010, all of the state's top offices - now held by Democrats - are up for grabs. So, too, is the U.S. Senate seat once held by President-elect Barack Obama and now held by Democrat Roland Burris.

Capitalizing on any blowback from a possible Democrat-led tax increase this spring and Blagojevich's problems, Republicans believe they have an opportunity in 2010 to break the Democratic Party's grip on control of state government.

After losing the 2006 Republican primary in a four-way race, Brady never stopped running for the 2010 election. He has been on the campaign trail speaking to county Republican gatherings in a run- up to next February's primary.

At a time when a successful campaign for governor could cost $15 million to $30 million, the most recent campaign finance reports show Brady, a real estate developer, has $331,000 in his campaign account.

Whitley reported $81,000 in his war chest, while another potential candidate, DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett has $44,000.

Among Democrats, the attorney general reported having $3.4 million in her campaign account as of Jan. 1, compared to Quinn's $83,000.

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