Today, the Tribune continues its endorsements for the upcoming election with our choices for the races for U.S. Congress in Illinois. This is Part One, covering districts 1 through 7.
1st District
The 1st District includes much of Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Grand Crossing, Morgan Park and Roseland and other sections of Cook, Will and Kankakee County, including New Lenox and Homer Glen. The incumbent is Democrat Jonathan Jackson, who ran unopposed in the primary and was elected with 67% of the vote in 2022. The Republican candidate, whom we did not endorse in the contested primary, is Marcus Lewis, a perennial candidate who does not have previous experience in elected office (he spent 16 years as a U.S. Postal Service mail handler) but who has run for Congress eight consecutive times.
We don’t judge the 65-year-old Lewis, a far-right conservative, to be a credible candidate. He opposes any and all aid to Ukraine, describes undocumented immigrants as mostly “murderers, rapists, pedophiles (and) thieves,” and when we asked if he would support the ongoing democratic transfer of power, he answered: “I would like to trust the results but I at this writing cannot trust the results unless I am declared the winner.” What a ridiculous statement from a candidate supported by the Republican Party; we think Lewis would harm our democracy.
Jackson is, of course, well known. The 58-year-old incumbent, son of the famous activist and former presidential candidate the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Jacqueline Jackson, the younger Jackson has just completed his first year in Congress. We don’t agree with all his positions by any means: His views on the Middle East diverge from ours as do many of his other progressive stances including his position on Chicago Public Schools, where he has fought against the necessary consolidation of buildings. He also is more theocratic than most Democrats; hardly a surprise, given his familial background. But we respect his smarts, his global experience (thanks in part to traveling with his dad) and trust him to reflect and represent a district where the Jackson name rightly commands respect.
Jonathan Jackson is endorsed.
2nd District
The 2nd District includes the far southeast part of Chicago and part of its southern suburbs, as well as parts of Will, Kankakee, Iroquois and Vermillion counties. The incumbent is Democrat Robin Kelly; her Republican challenger is Ashley Ramos. Both women ran unopposed in the primary.
Kelly, 68, told us that the biggest problem in her district is “the lack of overall economic development and investment.” She said the issue is “directly tied to gun violence, as a lack of opportunities drives people toward illegal activity, and the high rates of gun violence deter companies from investing in communities.” We couldn’t agree more. We have also been impressed by Kelly’s successful efforts to turn Pullman into a national park, boosting tourism and economic development. We’re more skeptical about the South Suburban Airport, but willing to listen.
Kelly’s a respected figure in Congress and has the kind of clout that will serve her district. “I believe that no matter where you fall along the political spectrum,” she told us, “everyone wants a quality job, good schools for their kids, access to health care, an affordable home, and to feel safe in their community.” Indeed.
Ramos, 37, is a comparative neophyte. She worked in the insurance industry before becoming an e-commerce specialist. She does acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, which is good, but she is opposed to banning assault weapons or even having sensible background checks on gun purchases, both of which are problematic positions. Overall, we don’t think Ramos offers a credible alternative to Kelly’s demonstrated accomplishments.
Robin Kelly is endorsed.
3rd District
The 3rd District includes the Chicago neighborhoods of Albany Park, Belmont Cragin, Dunning, Humboldt Park, Irving Park, Logan Square, Montclare, Portage Park and West Town, as well as all or parts of Addison, Bartlett, Bensenville, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, River Grove, Wayne, West Chicago, Wheaton and Wood Dale. The incumbent is Democrat Delia Ramirez, 41, elected with 68% of the vote in 2022. Her Republican opponent is attorney John Booras. Neither candidate faced primary opposition.
Ramirez has a handle on the worries in her district. “People are concerned that their wages are not keeping up with the cost of living and many are struggling to afford things like housing, health care, or accessing higher education,” she told us. That’s true.
But we strongly disagree with many of Ramirez’s very far-left positions, especially when it comes to the Middle East, where she was unacceptably slow to condemn Hamas and was one of only nine Democrats who voted against the congressional bipartisan nonbinding resolution offering support for Israel just two weeks after the brutal Hamas attacks. She also has been lamentably poor in her support for police officers; while a state representative, she signed a letter calling for the defunding of the Chicago Police Department. That would have caused a disaster.
“I am a coalition builder who is unapologetic about my values,” she said. We hope she will renew her commitment to the former, given the extremist nature of the latter.
Booras, 43, has many positions with which we agree and we appreciate his focus on public safety (he is a former police officer) and on economic development in the district. But he does not believe Biden won the 2020 election and that’s a deal-breaker for us, as is his opposition to both sensible gun control measures and aid to Ukraine.
No endorsement.
4th District
This majority Latino district includes the Chicago neighborhoods of Brighton Park, West Elsdon and South Lawndale as well as Burbank, Berwyn, Cicero, Brookfield, La Grange Park, Northlake and Melrose Park. The 4th District has been represented by Democrat Jesús “Chuy” García, 68, since January 2019. We did not endorse Garcia in the primary, choosing instead his more moderate and energetic opponent, 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez. But Garcia prevailed in this safe Democratic stronghold.
One of his opponents is teacher Ed Hershey of the left-wing Working Class Party, even though Garcia is plenty left wing for us. The neophyte Republican nominee meanwhile is Lupe Castillo, a Walgreens pharmacy technician and a staunch supporter of Donald Trump’s agenda.
“I am not a lifelong politician like Chuy,” Castillo, 64, told us. “I am the average American citizen looking for the right to live a good happy life. I’m not doing this for the money as some people assume. I want to go to D.C. and work with fellow Republicans to fix our horribly broken immigration process, our lack of border security and properly distribute the funds currently being used to process questionable asylum-seekers and fly illegal immigrants in and around the country.”
Republican readers might reasonably be interested in Castillo, whose critique of Garcia has merit and who tells us she accepts the results of the last election. But the congressman has brought home the bacon for his district and, if you care most about local issues, his experience does not have credible competition.
As for the Marxist-influenced Hershey, 45: “A vote for me is a vote for the idea that the working class is the real power in this society, and that the working class should have its own organization,” he told us. We think Garcia has done just fine taking care of the working-class folks in his district. Hershey’s candidacy is superfluous.
Jesús “Chuy” García is endorsed.
5th District
The 5th District covers the Chicago neighborhoods of Albany Park, Forest Glen, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Norwood Park, North Center, North Park, O’Hare and West Ridge, as well as some northwest suburbs, including Arlington Heights and Palatine. The incumbent of this safe Democratic district is Mike Quigley, reelected with 70% of the vote in 2022. His Republican challenger is Tommy Hanson, a real estate broker who has run several times in this district with no success.
We well know and admire Quigley, a moderate, sensible, 65-year-old Democrat and a highly effective voice for his district (and for Illinois) since 2009. “The issue that I hear from my constituents about the most is overwhelmingly crime and gun violence in our communities,” he told us. “The only way we can effectively tackle these issues is to pursue a comprehensive approach to violence prevention. That means ensuring that our local police and the Department of Justice have the resources they need to prosecute criminals, and simultaneously creating new options for communities when police presence is not needed.” Exactly.
Hanson, 70, tells us he would ban sanctuary-city statuses and close the borders. “High crime, sirens round the clock, crimes committed in broad daylight with bystanders, my constituents have reached their limit,” he told us. “Supporting and equipping law enforcement to do their job, not to stand down, is the only way to resolve this issue. I am for cutting federal funding to cities who do not make law enforcement a priority and who have consisting rising crime rates.” Hanson told us he accepts the results of the 2020 election and we were glad to see he supports sensible background checks on gun ownership although we’re troubled by his refusal to support the people of Ukraine in their ongoing battle with Vladimir Putin.
Mike Quigley is endorsed.
6th District
Illinois’ 6th District covers all or part of the Chicago neighborhoods of Beverly, Mount Greenwood, Garfield Ridge and Clearing as well as all or part of Orland Hills, Western Springs, Orland Park, Palos Hills, Hickory Hills, Chicago Ridge, Bridgeview, Willow Springs, Indian Head Park, Tinley Park and Evergreen Park. The incumbent is Democrat Sean Casten, who was reelected with 54% of the vote in 2022 (the district now has been redrawn to be friendlier to Democrats) and whom we endorsed in the Democratic primary and in the last general election. Casten’s opponent is Republican Niki Conforti, an energy consultant and a prior candidate for this seat in 2022.
When we asked Casten about the immigration crisis, this moderate Democrat told us: “I have always been fond of Ronald Reagan’s description of America as a ‘tall proud city … teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and heart to get here.’” He went on to say, rightly, “There is nothing about that vision that is inconsistent with border security.” We also appreciated his statement, in regard to the situation in Gaza, “a cease-fire is only possible with, among other things, the release of hostages.” Correct again.
Conforti, 61, a businesswoman with a background in energy policy and health care, says she will protect the “liberties and freedoms” of those in her district. She says she is pro-life (with certain exceptions) and a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment and she touts herself as a “fresh face” in politics. Fair enough. And we note that Conforti has spoken well on the dangers of inflation and on the need to combat crime. But she does not have the experience to seriously challenge Casten.
Sean Casten is endorsed.
7th District
Billed as the most Democratic district in Illinois, the 7th is centered on Chicago’s South and West sides and also covers some or all of Broadview, Bellwood, Forest Park, Hillside, Oak Park, La Grange Park, Maywood and Westchester. Veteran Democrat Danny K. Davis, 83, has represented the district for 27 years. His Republican opponent in this battle of octogenarians is Chad Koppie, 88, a retired Delta Air Lines pilot and farmer.
Koppie’s campaign is centered on abortion: “In all of the U.S.,” he told us, “the most pressing problem is abortion, since it kills about 4,000 innocent babies, each day. If I’m in Congress, I’ll propose a constitutional amendment that would say each human life begins at conception.” We respect the sincerity of Koppie’s belief, but he’s a perennial losing candidate and not a credible alternative for the vast majority of the people of the 7th District, who rely on Davis to attend to their needs in Congress and will be supporting their veteran congressman as they have for decades. Davis’ big fight was during his primary battle, and he emerged the victor. Change is surely coming in the near future to the 7th District, but it’s unlikely to arrive in November.
Danny Davis is endorsed.
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