Conscious Choice: How to Vote Green in the Illinois Primaries

March 2002

How to Vote Green in the Illinois Primaries

by Dave Aftandilian

Later this month Illinoisans will have the chance to vote in the primary elections for a number of important federal, state, and local offices. There are several very close races that might well come down to a few thousand or even a few hundred votes, so your vote could make a big difference in nominating potential candidates who will expand and protect our public lands, prosecute polluters, encourage smart growth and clean energy, and otherwise serve as advocates for people and the planet rather than big business.

Governor

For the first time in a quarter century, the Democrats have a real chance to take back the Illinois governor’s mansion, thanks to the scandal-ridden administration of George Ryan, who will retire at the end of his current term. Three Democrats and three Republicans will be running for each party’s nomination in the primaries.

Let’s start with the Republican candidates. So far the front-runner seems to be Jim Ryan. Conservative, but not so conservative as Patrick O’Malley, one of his challengers, Ryan has served two terms as Illinois attorney general. His Web site has a page dedicated to his environmental accomplishments while in that office, which have included increasing the number of civil environmental lawsuits by 59 percent in his first four years; forming an environmental crimes bureau to place more emphasis on prosecuting polluters, which has so far obtained more than 106 criminal convictions; protecting the public from industrial accidents and releases of toxic substances; and forming a statewide law enforcement network to detect environmental crimes. On the other hand, his Web site doesn’t mention any environmental issues as being of interest to Ryan as a potential governor; in fact, while discussing his plans for economic development, Ryan said he would focus on "eliminating unnecessary regulations," which could be bad news for the environment.

State senator Patrick O’Malley is also running as a Republican candidate for governor. He’s against a woman’s right to choose (as is Ryan), pro-death penalty, and pro-gun rights. According to his Web site, his main environmental accomplishment while in office has been the repeal of the retail rate law — the state subsidy program for garbage incinerator developers. Like Ryan’s, none of O’Malley’s position papers or issue statements mentions environmental concerns.

The Sierra Club has endorsed Lieutenant Governor Corinne Wood in the Republican primary because she made protecting the environment a priority while she was lieutenant governor, and has pledged to do so as governor too. She plans on working to strengthen enforcement of the Clean Water Act, promote smarter growth and rein in sprawl, aggressively acquire natural areas for future generations, strengthen air pollution controls, and promote clean, safe energy. (Wood is also the only one of the Republican candidates for governor who supports a woman’s right to choose.)

During her time in office Wood has served as Chair of the Illinois River Coordinating Council, creating the Illinois Rivers 2020 program to protect, restore, and enhance the Illinois Rivers watershed. Wood has a longstanding commitment to smart growth, including the efficient use of existing infrastructures rather than building new ones, working toward shorter commute times and neighborhood renewal, reducing the use of open land, and limiting the destruction of wildlife habitat. As part of this commitment she served as the state’s representative on the Chicago Metropolis 2020 planning group’s executive council, and was also a member of the governor’s Balanced Growth Cabinet. As chair of the Illinois Main Street Council, Wood also has worked to restore the vitality of downtown areas, resulting in a $296 million investment in downtown commerce in Illinois.

Democratic voters also have three gubernatorial candidates to choose from in the primaries. Former CEO of Chicago Public Schools Paul Vallas, who has neither an environmental record in his past offices nor any particular interest in environmental issues in this current race (so far as I can tell from his Web site); Rod Blagojevich; and Roland Burris.

Burris is a former Illinois attorney general and three-time Illinois state comptroller, and is also the first African American to hold state office in Illinois. As attorney general, he won a record number of cases against environmental polluters, and used the resulting fines to help communities affected by their pollution; for instance, he shut down the Waste Management incinerator in Chicago’s Tenth Ward, and used part of the fine levied against the company to set up a $1 million educational fund for students in that neighborhood. Burris also reactivated the civil rights division of the attorney general’s office to fight racial profiling. He is in favor both of building a Peotone airport and keeping Meigs Field open. He also supports increased coal development in southern Illinois, but without violating clean air standards (a tall order, as Illinois coal is mostly of the extremely polluting high-sulfur variety).

The Sierra Club has endorsed Rod Blagojevich as the most environmentally friendly candidate in the Democratic race. Like Corinne Wood, he has promised to work to strengthen enforcement of the Clean Water Act, promote smarter growth and rein in sprawl, aggressively acquire natural areas for future generations, strengthen air pollution controls, and promote clean, safe energy. The AFL-CIO and the IVI-IPO, among others, have also endorsed Blagojevich.

Blagojevich is currently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois’ fifth district (on the North Side of Chicago). During the 105th and 106th Congresses he earned a 93 percent rating from the League of Conservation Voters based on his pro-environment voting record. He uncovered and stopped a secret U.S. Navy plan to transport napalm across the country to Chicago for disposal. He believes that sprawl and lack of proper land-use planning are serious problems in Illinois suburbs.

Lieutenant Governor

The Sierra Club has endorsed Democrat Mike Kelleher for lieutenant governor; they feel he would be an effective, vocal advocate for smart growth, clean energy, and protection of natural areas. Kelleher is currently a professor teaching American government and economic development at Illinois State University. He also heads the university’s Unit for Community and Economic Development, an innovative program that gives people a year of on-campus training, then sends them off for a year of hands-on work in needy communities throughout Illinois and across the nation. His downstate contacts and experience could be very useful for Chicago-based gubernatorial candidates like Blagojevich and Vallas.

Former State Treasurer Pat Quinn is another Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. You may know his name from some of his work on populist consumer causes. Also on the Democratic ballot is Joyce Washington, who has dedicated her career to healthcare, and considers it the "number one priority of government." The only environmental issue Washington seems concerned about is urban sprawl.

On the Republican side, William O’Connor is a moderate, currently serving as a state representative, and Corinne Wood’s top pick for a running mate. The other candidates include Carl Hawkinson, a conservative state senator who has gotten the nod from Jim Ryan; Charles Owens, who has said he would focus on protecting consumers from the negative effects of utility deregulation; and Jack McInerny, who has spent the past several years mainly working on other peoples’ election campaigns.

Attorney General

The attorney general serves as the state’s top cop, responsible for prosecuting both civil and criminal cases. One of the responsibilities of the attorney general is to enforce Illinois’ environmental laws.

Democrats have two very good candidates to choose from. Lisa Madigan, daughter of Illinois house speaker Mike Madigan, seems to have the most political clout on her side — she worked in former U.S. senator Paul Simon’s office, and he is serving as her campaign co-chair; she has claimed the endorsements of the Illinois Democratic Party, the IVI-IPO, Mayor Daley, the AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood, and more. The Sierra Club has also endorsed Madigan as the candidate most likely to advocate for strengthening environmental protections across the board based on her work as an Illinois state senator from the 17th District (on the North Side of Chicago); she was the lead sponsor, for instance, of legislation to crack down on water polluters to make them pay for discharge permits, the proceeds from which would then be used to clean up water pollution. In her candidacy announcement, Madigan promised to "go after any polluter, no matter how big or well connected, that puts our air and water in the loss column of their balance sheets."

With far fewer political endorsements but considerably more legal experience is Democratic candidate John Schmidt. His legal career spans more than thirty years, and Schmidt served as associate attorney general under President Clinton — the third ranked position in the federal Justice Department. The Sun-Times calls Schmidt "uniquely qualified for the state’s top law enforcement position," and former U.S. attorney general Janet Reno described him as "a superb lawyer [who] knows how to supervise people" and "has great analytical skills."

While in the federal Justice Department, Schmidt was responsible for all the civil and criminal enforcement activities of the civil rights, environment, and anti-trust divisions. He enforced the federal clinic access law to protect the right of choice, and established the Violence Against Women office. He forced polluters to pay record fines and clean up contaminated sites. He aggressively prosecuted criminal cases on the abuse of civil rights, and fought hard to promote compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Schmidt served as the Clinton Administration’s lead spokesperson against the Republicans’ anti-environmental "Contract with America," and helped develop and implement a strategy to deal with those who challenged the U.S. government’s authority to own and manage federal lands in the West. He brokered the agreement with the New World Mine which safeguarded Yellowstone National Park, conducted a successful defense of Clinton’s Pacific Northwest forests plan, prosecuted international wildlife smugglers, and pursued a host of criminal and civil actions against polluters.

Of the two Republicans running for attorney general, Bob Coleman cites the environment as "an important issue," and has promised to fight for fair electricity pricing for consumers in Illinois’ deregulated electricity market. He served as an assistant attorney general in Illinois from 1969 to 1974, and has worked as a private lawyer since then, founding his own firm in 1984. Joe Birkett has a strong criminal prosecution record, starting as a lawyer for the state’s attorney in DuPage County in 1981 and working his way up to chief of the criminal division in 1991, then to two terms as DuPage County state’s attorney. But at least judging from his Web site, he has little or no interest in environmental issues.

U.S. Senate

On the Democratic side, the incumbent Dick Durbin is running unopposed for the nomination. Durbin has a 100 percent pro-environment voting record as senator in both the 105th and 106th sessions of Congress, according to the League of Conservation Voters. Durbin is one of the most pro-environment senators in Congress.

In the Republican primary voters have a choice between John Cox, Jim Durkin, and Jim Oberweis. Of the three, Cox seems the most environmentally friendly. He was the only one of the candidates for governor or U.S. Senate to respond to Conscious Choice‘s requests for position papers or issue statements relating to the environment. However, Cox refers to himself as "a true Ronald Reagan Republican." He opposes the O’Hare expansion plan, favoring instead a third airport at Peotone. Alone among the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate, though, Cox expressed support for high-speed rail in Illinois, and is against the ill-considered government subsidies of the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act, which he says "has directed most of the subsidies to either the large corporate farms or affluent individuals."

Jim Oberweis is chairman of the board of Oberweis Dairy, as well as president of Oberweis Asset Management and the Oberweis Funds. He wants to explore new oil reserves, find "an environmentally acceptable way to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," and develop southern Illinois’ coal deposits, although he also supports increasing energy conservation measures. Oberweis has promised to seek a constitutional amendment to outlaw flag burning and other "desecration" of the American flag. Like all three Republican candidates for U.S. Senate, he is against a woman’s right to choose.

According to the Sun-Times, Jim Durkin is the current front-runner in the Republican pack. A former Cook County prosecutor and assistant Illinois attorney general, he is currently a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. Along with forty-eight of Durkin’s fellow House members, former Illinois governor Jim Thompson has endorsed Durkin’s candidacy. Gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan also encouraged Durkin to run for the Senate, although he stopped short of outright endorsing him. U.S. Senator Steve McCain, whose presidential campaign Durkin co-chaired in Illinois, is also supporting him. In addition to being pro-gun-owners, Durkin is pro-nuclear energy, even with the heightened security concerns after September 11. He supports expanding the use of "clean" coal, and increased exploration for oil and gas both in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in other natural areas. The only pro-environment positions in Durkin’s policy statements are his commitment to expanded tax credits and other incentives for research and development of alternative fuels.

Other Important Local Races

One of the Illinois Senate contests that the Sierra Club is watching most closely is the 41st District race between Christine Radogno and William Mahar, chair of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee. According to the Sierra Club’s Darin, "There is a clear choice between Radogno, a leading proponent of tougher air pollution controls while in the state legislature, and Mahar, who has many times been very cooperative with big industry, utilities, and big polluters."

In Lake County, realtors and developers are putting on a big push to oust the smart-growth Republicans who currently have a majority on the Lake County Board. For a list of the candidates the Sierra Club supports in this race, visit its Web site (see Get More Info). Lake County residents in Fremont Township will also have the chance to vote on an open-space referendum that the Sierra Club supports.

The DuPage County Board is splitting, which will create a new DuPage County Forest Preserve District (FPD) Board. "This election will determine whether or not DuPage County has a board of good stewards of the public forests or something else," said Darin. Among the Sierra Club’s endorsements in the DuPage County Board races is the Republican Dewey Pierotti for FPD board president, a countywide office. In his previous position as president of the Forest Preserve Commission from District 1, Pierotti worked to keep roads out of the forest preserves, use forest preserve funds wisely, and strengthen the health of the ecosystems in the forest preserves. (For more Sierra Club endorsements in DuPage County, visit the River Prairie Group’s Web site.)

Finally, in Cook County, the Sierra Club has endorsed four candidates for commissioners on the Cook County Board. Among them is Democrat Forrest Claypool, whom Darin described as "an open-space advocate formerly from the Chicago Park District" versus "Ted Lechowicz, who voted to sell public forest preserves for private development."

Get More Info

Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO)

Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter, 312-251-1680 (If you do not see the endorsements on this page, try clicking on the link for "Chicago Group.")

WBEZ, 91.5 FM (list of candidates, links to their Web pages, audio interviews)

Campaign Finance Reform

In the March 19 primary election, you will be asked to choose nominees for at least a dozen different offices.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) and the Illinois State Board of Elections both maintain Web sites that list candidates’ campaign finance data. The state board’s Web site (www.elections .state.il.us) is more up-to-date, while the ICPR site (www.ilcampaign.org) provides more user-friendly tables and background information. ICPR has recently posted the lifetime top donors, called "Career Patrons" of candidates for governor, as well as of the six incumbent statewide executive officers.

A broad coalition has called upon candidates to signal their support for ethical reforms by signing off on a five-point pledge that would ban state employees from collecting campaign contributions from businesses they regulate and establish a state agency to investigate ethical complaints about office holders. To date, more than 160 candidates for legislative or statewide executive office have signed the pledge. To find out if your candidates are among them, visit the Illinois Campaign Reform Coalition’s Web site at www.il cleangovernment.org.

— David Morrison, www.LegINFO.org

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