CHICAGO (WGN) — Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar died Sunday at the age of 79, according to multiple sources.

Edgar, who served as Illinois' 38th governor from 1991 to 1999, was widely regarded as a steady hand in the state's politics. He was the last Republican governor elected more than once in Illinois.

Born in 1946 in rural Oklahoma, Edgar’s family moved to Coles County when he was just a toddler. He grew up in Charleston where he stayed for college at Eastern Illinois.

Edgar married his college sweetheart, Brenda. But he didn’t make the first move.

Edgar would say he liked to let the girls come to him. Fortunately for him, a friend told him Brenda was open to going out on a date with him.

"Then I called Brenda up because I figured she wouldn't tell me no. And we started dating," he

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