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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, a Charleston native whose blend of candor and fiscal discipline defined his two terms as the state's chief executive, died on Sunday. He was 79.Ìý

“It is with heavy hearts we share the news that our beloved husband, father and grandfather Jim Edgar passed away this morning in Springfield from complications related to treatment for pancreatic cancer,� Edgar's family said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for the love, support and kindness so many have shown to Jim and our family over these last several months.�

Edgar announced his cancer diagnosis in February. In an interview with Lee Enterprises at the time, he said that he planned to “take every month or year that I can get� and “hopefully be able to enjoy life, too.�

Going against the grain of the current climate of rancorous partisanship, tributes to Edgar poured in from across the political spectrum, with Democrats and Republicans alike praising the former governor as a "statesman in the true sense of the word" who brought people together during his two terms as governor and later through his bipartisan "Edgar Fellows" program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.Ìý 

Gov. JB Pritzker, in a statement, called Edgar "a model public servant, a devoted father and husband, and an honest and honorable man."

"I was lucky enough to consider him a friend and mentor and have found myself drawing from his words of wisdom on countless occasions," Pritzker said. "His commitment to reaching across the aisle in service of the people of Illinois undeniably made our state better."

"Now more than ever, we should channel that spirit and resolve to live as Governor Edgar did: with honesty, integrity, and an enduring respect for all," he said, adding that Illinois flags across the state will be flown at half-staff in memory of Edgar.Ìý

House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, called Edgar "a dedicated public servant who led with independence, humility, and a genuine commitment to bringing people together."

“Throughout his distinguished career, he worked tirelessly to build bridges across party lines, strengthen Illinois’ fiscal foundation, and put the needs of our citizens ahead of politics," McCombie said. "His steady leadership and principled example earned respect from Republicans and Democrats alike."

Edgar was born in Vinita, Oklahoma but grew up in Charleston, where he was educated in the city's public schools before graduating from Eastern Illinois University in 1968 with a degree in history.

While at EIU, Edgar won his first elected office as student body president. It proved to be a harbinger of electoral success to come. He would win election to the Illinois House in 1976, serving just over two years until resigning to become an aide to Gov. Jim Thompson.

Thompson, fulfilling a promise to find a place for Edgar on the statewide ticket, appointed him secretary of state in 1981 to succeed Democrat Alan Dixon, who had been elected to the U.S. Senate.

Edgar would win two terms in his own right and serve in the office for a decade until he succeeded Thompson as governor, serving from 1991 to 1999.Ìý

Narrowly elected governor over Democratic Attorney General Neil Hartigan in 1990, Edgar was reelected with a massive margin in 1994, winning all but one of the state's 102 counties against Democratic Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch.

As governor, Edgar helped shepherd the state budget from a deficit of more than $1 billion when he entered office to a surplus of more than $1 billion when he left.

This effort was boosted by a strong national economy, but also involved a strict fiscal discipline best summed up in his first budget address to state lawmakers, when he said it was time to "tear up our credit cards and put a screeching halt to the spending spree." Edgar would slash about $2.5 billion from the state budget.

He also signed into law what is now known as the "Edgar ramp," which laid out a 50-year schedule to get the state's underfunded pension systems to 90% funded by 2045.ÌýHowever, the state often struggled to make the required payments under the backloaded ramp.Ìý

"He was not flashy, he was not grandiose, but he had a really clear sense of responsibility and stewardship and fiscal responsibility and government as a force for solving problems," said John Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale.Ìý

He was not afraid to make politically-tough decisions.

During the 1990 campaign, he told voters that, if elected, he would advocate making permanent a temporary income tax surcharge that had been due to expire. When elected, he signed the measure into law.Ìý

"I think it was just kind of an example of honorable, honest leadership in the midst of a kind of a tough, fierce political campaign that he was willing to take a stance that was probably not going to help him win the election, but would allow him to be a successful governor if he were elected," Shaw said.Ìý

He also fought without success to shift the primary burden for funding K-12 schools to the state and away from local property taxes. The plan, which would have required a $2 billion state income tax hike in exchange for a $1.5 billion property tax reduction, was killed by Republican legislative leaders.Ìý

Edgar's fiscal conservatism was fused with a moderate stance on social issues, including support for abortion rights. It was a recipe for Republican electoral success, one that the party has seldom replicated in Illinois since Edgar left office. In fact, Judy Baar Topinka, who served as treasurer from 1995 to 2007 and comptroller from 2011 to 2014, is the only statewide Republican elected official to be reelected in the post-Edgar era.Ìý

Edgar left politics with high approval ratings after his second term, rebuffing calls for him to run for another term as governor or for the U.S. Senate.

Regional Transportation Authority Chairman Kirk Dillard, who served as Edgar's chief of staff during his first term, said that Edgar was "an excellent problem solver in a cooperative manner with both political parties" and "without regard to region."

"Jim Edgar had an unparalleled knowledge of the daily workings of government," Dillard said. "No one other than probably former Gov. Jim Thompson knew Illinois from deep Southern Illinois through Central Illinois to the suburbs to the city to the city's ethnic neighborhoods better than Gov. Edgar. And that helped him immensely."

In this vein, Edgar devoted much of his time during retirement to the Edgar Fellows program, an annual five-day executive training designed by the former governor to influence attitudes and foster mutual understanding among emerging Illinois leaders across partisan, ethnic and regional lines.

More than 500 Illinois political leaders, including members of Congress, the state legislature and local government, have participated in the program.

This is how Edgar kept his influence despite giving up his power at arguably the height of his political popularity. Not overstaying his welcome is an underappreciated aspect of Edgar's legacy, his aides said.

"He had long felt that two terms for a governor of Illinois should be sufficient," said Mike Lawrence, who served as Edgar's press secretary for a decade. "Now he felt that way, but when it came time to actually making the decision, it was a wrenching one for him. He really liked the job. But in the end, he stuck to what had been a long-standing position of his, and we don't see a lot of that today."

Lawrence, a statehouse reporter for Lee Enterprises before working for Edgar, said that unlike the glad-handing, backslapping Thompson and many other politicians, Edgar campaigned strictly as a means to get to govern. This was encapsulated in a moment the two shared on Edgar's first full day as governor.

"I walked into his office, and I said, 'I enjoyed the festivities yesterday,' and I said, 'but...'" Lawrence said, pausing, briefly. "By that time, we were finishing each other's sentences, and he said 'yes, today we govern.' And to me, that really captured his determination to do a good job."

"For some people in public office, getting elected and staying in office is an end," Lawrence said. "And for Gov. Edgar, he campaigned and got elected so he could govern."

During his tenure as secretary of state, Edgar successfully fought for tougher drunk driving laws and spearheaded an effort to mandate that drivers carry auto insurance.

He also launched several initiatives to support literacy, including the “Read Illinoisâ€� program in 1981, which promoted the work of Illinois authors through reading lists, author conferences, and a “literary mapâ€� highlighting authors’ hometowns. He also oversaw construction of the Illinois State Library building, which opened in 1990. In May, .Ìý

In 1983, Edgar ended the practice of having license plates manufactured at out-of-state prisons, instead , a Decatur social service agency that provides services to people with mental, physical and developmental disabilities. Every subsequent secretary of state has renewed the contract with the agency, which has a workforce that's nearly 60% people with disabilities.Ìý

Edgar returned often to Charleston over the years, including being a frequent guest speaker at EIU and bringing other prominent speakers to the university, as well as recording a still-in-use introduction for the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Museum in Charleston.

Audrey Parkes Jorns, an Oakland native whose late husband David was president of EIU when Edgar was governor, said Edgar felt fierce pride for both his hometown and his alma mater.

She recalled when Edgar and his wife, Brenda, attended the EIU Centennial Celebration in 1995.

"Afterwards, the Edgars mentioned that Brenda's dormitory room was just next door in Pemberton Hall," Jorns said. "Dave suggested we all go and have a look, so off we went to Pem Hall, up several flights of stairs, Brenda leading the way, until we arrived at her former room. We knocked, and the door was opened by a sweet young college girl who was at a complete loss for words when she stared into the faces of the Governor and First Lady of Illinois and the University President."

Edgar is survived by his wife Brenda and two children.Ìý

This story will be updated.Ìý