The goal was this: Find out if he's a whack job.

Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for governor, headlined a fundraiser Saturday night at a Pilsen restaurant. I attended the event with explicit instructions from two friends, whom I consider well-informed, independent-minded voters.

"If he's not a whack job, I'd consider voting for him," one of them said.

Water-cooler conversation seems to reflect general dissatisfaction with the Democratic and Republican nominees for governor. In polls, voters have expressed negative feelings toward Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Judy Baar Topinka. So the table is set for a third-party candidate.

But is Whitney an entree worth considering?

I sat in my car outside the Pilsen restaurant, trying to stifle my elitist perception of credible gubernatorial fundraising -- $100-a-plate dinners in chandeliered ballrooms with an open bar and tidy-looking men in patriotic neckties.

This was a dumpy restaurant on the Southwest Side with a couple of dudes in dreadlocks swinging through the front door. A disappointing crowd of 40 people sat in a back room that smelled of fried tortillas.

No doubt Whitney, from southern Illinois, draws a bigger audience downstate. But this event was billed as his Chicago fundraiser. If the turnout reflected Chicago's interest in the Green Party, Whitney might as well get in his VW bus and head back down Interstate 57, I thought.

But then I met him.

He looks like Kenny Rogers, pre-plastic surgery. Gray hair. Trim beard. Wire glasses. Nice smile. And he was wearing a suit with a paisley tie. No VW bus in sight.

He even ordered juice from the bar. Juice.

Then he spoke about the state budget, the need to reform the state's tax structure and the tired, wrinkled ideas of his competitors -- casinos and the Illinois Lottery to fund schools. Unlike his opponents, Whitney actually has ideas.

Yes, the Green Party is an environmental group, but even President Bush is talking about renewable energy sources, hybrid automobiles and less dependence on foreign oil. It's not a subject for hippies anymore.

His platform is based on research, from the respected Center for Tax and Budget Accountability to Better Funding for Better Schools, a south suburban-based school funding group.

The last book he read? Blagojevich's Fiscal Year 2007 budget.

"I'm really kind-of a boring person because political activism is my life," Whitney said. "But in my down time, I like to catch up on my favorite TV shows. I'm a Trekkie. I like 'Battlestar Galactica.' "

He supports a "living wage" for Illinois workers that includes health care coverage; he supports state Sen. James Meeks' House Bill 750, which would raise the income tax to fund schools and provide property tax relief; and he supports gun owners. He's a cocktail tantalizing for the right and the left.

He understands the obstacles for third parties in Illinois, beginning with perception. He won't be satisfied with just 5 percent of the vote on Election Day, even though that qualifies the Green Party for perks in upcoming election cycles.

"That really would be a consolation prize," he said. "We're running to win. Now, I'm not delusional. I'm not predicting we're going to win, but I think we have a chance to win."

The Illinois Education Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees declined to endorse Blagojevich or Topinka. Both organizations share kind words about Whitney, who reflects their views.

But that darn old "electability" issue drags on Whitney like a dead horse. Nobody wants to support the Green Party. Instead, the two labor organizations are disguising their lack of endorsements as a moral position.

"The failure of (Blagojevich) to propose or endorse a comprehensive tax reform plan that will address the state's fiscal crisis, and the failure of (Topinka) to propose or endorse the same is the biggest single factor in why union delegates decided it was prudent to make no endorsement," AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said. "The tax swap proposal embodied in House Bill 750 was, and has been, our top priority in Springfield."

IEA spokesman Charlie McBarron echoed the same.

"We were supporters of House Bill 750 in the spring," he said.

I realize these guys are paid to say this stuff, but I almost lost my lunch.

AFSCME threw a tantrum over Blagojevich's plans to end overly generous pension benefits for retiring state workers. Mind you -- Blagojevich would not have touched existing pensions; he merely spoke of more reasonable pension benefits for future workers. The IEA supports school funding reform but has never played hardball on the issue.

As for Topinka, she must not have sucked up enough on her questionnaire to both groups.

If House Bill 750 was a priority, the unions would have been able to exert enough pressure to get the bill called for a vote in the Senate -- at the least.

And if labor really wants to take a moral position, they should be supporting Whitney, who actually believes in their issues.

But this is Illinois, and political safety outweighs moral conviction. Soft-peddling is always preferred over honesty.

No wonder Blagojevich and Topinka won't debate Whitney. He's not a whack job.

Kristen McQueary covers government and politics for the Daily Southtown. Her column appears Thursday and Sunday. She may be reached at kmcqueary@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5972.1MCQ1-28