SPRINGFIELD — Hundreds celebrated the life and mourned the death of former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar in services Saturday at Central Baptist Church. Political leaders, friends and relatives remembered the Republican as a “steadfast leader,” with a love for horses, reading and chocolate cake.

Edgar, 79, died Sept. 14 due to complications from pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed in January and was receiving treatment in Springfield.

In a pre-recorded video played during Saturday’s service, Edgar said he “had a good run.”

“If I don’t get 10 more years like I’d hoped to get, at least I got probably 75 years of good time,” Edgar said in the video.

He was a two-term Republican governor, leading the state through much of the 1990s. He won re-election with the widest plurality any incumbent Illi

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