By Benjamin Yount   Illinois Statehouse News

SPRINGFIELD  –  After a close election that leaves him 20,000 votes behind,  Bill Brady still will not admit defeat in the race for Illinois governor.

The GOP gubernatorial hopeful said on Thursday that he wants to count all of the votes, and still wants to wait up to 30 days for local and state election authorities to certify that vote.

"We're still collecting data.  We're still waiting for results to come in.  There are a number of votes that yet have to be counted, military, absentee, and others.  Our campaign is looking at data and evaluating that data right now," Brady said.

But there is a growing sense that even after all of the ballots are counted, Brady will continue to  trail Gov. Pat Quinn.  The latest tally has Brady behind the governor by 19,400 votes.  The GOP candidate said he thinks he will pick up some votes, but would not say how many. 

Quinn said in Chicago that he doesn't need a formal concession to celebrate his victory.

"I think the people of Illinois know who won the election," said Quinn.

Brady said he's not going to bow to the pressure to end his vote count, no matter who is asking.

"Gov. Quinn has a right to his opinion.  But we're going to evaluate what is best for the state of Illinois and what's proper for this election."

The vote count could take a month – 20 days for local election offices to certify their ballots and another 10 for the Illinois State Board but on Thursday he'd only say that he doesn't expect to change that timeline.

Ron Michaelson, the former director of the Illinois State Board of Elections and a professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said Brady is doing what he has to do as a candidate.  Even though he faces an uphill climb.

"One thing that has to be a consideration for the Brady campaign is that there may be a large mistake in a local vote count.  That happens," said Michaelson "But [winning] looks like a much tougher hill to climb than late on Tuesday night."

Michaelson added that Brady is now trying to sound some of the right notes after a long, hard-fought campaign.

"Some of this has more to do with how Brady will be remembered that it does with winning the election," said Michaelson.

Brady's comments came as lawmakers returned to Springfield for a one-day session ostensibly to vote on a pension borrowing plan.  Lawmakers never voted, instead they talked about the election results and congratulated each other for winning.  Candidates who did not fare well on Election Day were in short supply in Springfield on Thursday.

The General Assembly is not due back to the state capitol until Nov. 16 for the annual fall veto session.