SPRINGFIELD — A Statesman’s Departure Jim Edgar, a former two-term Republican governor of Illinois, has died at 79. His family confirmed he passed away on Sunday from complications related to treatment for pancreatic cancer.  Born in Vinita, Oklahoma and raised in Charleston, Illinois, Edgar’s political rise was steady and respected: from the Illinois House of Representatives to a decade as Secretary of State, then Governor from 1991 to 1999. Leadership in Challenging Times When Edgar took office, Illinois was grappling with a sizeable budget deficit and a recession‐era economic decline. He advocated for tough budget cuts, made temporary tax surcharges…