When a boyish-looking Republican named William G. Stratton was elected governor of Illinois last year, not much was expected of him. The 39-year-old politician with a pompadour and an adolescent voice seemed unlikely to fill Adlai Stevenson's shoes. The liberals labeled Stratton a reactionary. Even the old pols in his own party looked upon him as an upstart, and some of them had an uncomplimentary nickname for him: "Billy the Kid."
Last week, as the Illinois legislature packed up and went home, the Republican detractors of Billy the Kid were looking back on his...
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