During his three terms in the Illinois General Assembly, state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, said shepherding a ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines through the legislature is the most significant thing he has accomplished in his three terms in office.
“It is by far the most meaningful legislation I will ever be part of,” Morgan said of the law he championed in the wake of the 2022 Highland Park Fourth of July parade mass shooting. “There is still more work to do.”
Carl Lambrecht, Morgan’s Republican challenger in the upcoming general election, takes a different view on gun violence. He believes the problem is the person who pulls the trigger, not the weapon.
“Guns aren’t violent by themselves,” Lambrecht said. “The individual is where the problem is.”
Lambrecht, 91, a longtime Highland Park resident, and Morgan take opposite views on a number of issues, including abortion rights and the approach to curbing inflation impacting residents of the 58th House District, which includes a large portion of southeast Lake County.
North suburban voters will decide whether Morgan or Lambrecht will represent them in the state House in the Nov. 5 general election.
First elected in 2018, Morgan, 44, is running for his fourth term. He is also a partner in the law firm of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff. He said he devotes his time to both the legislature and his law practice.
An optic lens designer, Lambrecht said he has made lenses for airplanes and submarines. He has never held elective office but he has run before, including for the Township High School District 113 Board of Education in 2011. He has considered running for the state legislature before.
“One day I woke up and decided to run,” he said of his current campaign. “I thought about it for several years and decided it was time.”
As Morgan has met with voters, he said he has continually heard them talk about women’s reproductive freedom and the cost of living, as well as fear of gun violence and its impact on schoolchildren.
Chair of the Firearms Safety and Reform Working Group in the state House, Morgan said guns should be taken away from people who are a threat to themselves or others, as well as those with mental health issues.
Believing many mass shootings are done by people whose mental health is impaired, Lambrecht said he sticks by his mantra of, “guns aren’t violent by themselves.” He did not take a position on legislation limiting gun ownership.
A longtime opponent of abortion, Lambrecht said he is totally opposed to women terminating pregnancies. When he talks about the issue, the word choice is not part of his vocabulary.
“You’re either pro-life or pro-death.,” he said. “Abortion is death by dismemberment. Being pro-choice is about choosing what school you want to go to.”
Proud Illinois is a place where woman have the freedom to make their own decisions about reproductive health while neighboring states impose restrictions, Morgan said, adding he intends to do everything he can to make it remain as it is.
“Illinois continues to be an island among Midwestern states, where women have freedom of choice over what to do with their bodies,” he said. “We should take strong measures to ensure it stays that way.”
As his constituents continue to deal with the cost of living, Morgan said he hopes a bill he introduced in January, which was passed by the House and sent to the state Senate in April, will get a vote there before the current legislative session ends in January.
If enacted, Mogan said all businesses that offer goods or services to the public will be required to disclose all costs associated with the sale in an effort to let people know precisely what they are getting, without any surprises at the cash register or when they receive a bill.
While Lambrecht also has concerns about the cost of living, he said a reduction of government spending from schools to municipalities, and the state itself, will enable a reduction in taxes, putting more money in the hands of individuals.
The 58th District includes all or part of Bannockburn, Deerfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Lincolnshire, Northbrook and North Chicago.
Early voting and voting by mail are underway. People can vote between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays at the Lake County Courthouse and Administration Building in Waukegan through Oct. 18. Early voting expands to 17 other locations in Lake County on Oct. 21.
