February 2004
Illinois Progressives Take to the Race
On March 16, make the connection between candidates and issues
by Mandy Burrell
With the White House up for grabs, most people have their attention fixed on national elections. But the March 16 primaries also decide the players in important state, county and city races, offices that ultimately set the political tone in Illinois and the Chicagoland area. This year voters get to voice their choices for state and local offices including state senators in 20 districts, state representatives in all 118 districts, state’s attorney, county commissioners and, in Chicago, ward committeemen.
Hundreds of offices are up for re-election and the following endorsements are by no means a comprehensive compilation. But certain political candidates have shown that they’re willing to stand up for progressive issues — going out of their way to catch our attention. There’s a summary list at the end of this story that gives the candidates’ district information.
Environment
The climate in Springfield is looking up for environmentalists. In 2002, every single candidate endorsed by the Sierra Club won election, and 21 state legislators scored 100 percent on the Illinois Environmental Council’s (IEC) voting scorecard last year. Also, Bush’s destructive environmental agenda has inspired some politicians to push for environmental protection at the state level. "I think there’s been some additional attention paid because the Bush administration has made environmental issues high profile — and not in a good way," says Jonathan Goldman, director of the IEC, a coalition that serves as the lobbying voice for state environmental organizations.
Hence, plenty of work remains for green-minded Illinois politicians, and certain issues have come to the forefront including wetlands protection, renewable energy and open space acquisition, according to Goldman. Illinois ranks a woeful 47th in the nation in the amount of open lands owned by state or local governments, meaning that native habitats throughout the state are vulnerable to development. And monies set aside to purchase open lands has dwindled by 86 percent in the last five years.
The bottom line: local politicians aren’t ponying up to protect native habitats...a trend that those we endorse could help turn around! Goldman also hopes to see more leadership in Springfield around a pending bill that would require investor-owned energy companies to purchase energy from renewable resources.
Two Cook County state representatives who are seeking re-election, Elizabeth Coulson (R) and Harry Osterman (D), have shown strong support for environmental issues. Osterman strongly supported Illinois’ participation in the Coastal Management Program, which 35 states were eligible to join (nonetheless, Illinois didn’t take the feds up on their offer, losing up to $5 million a year in funding). Coulson scored 100 percent on the IEC voting card and also consistently supports healthcare reform legislation.
A couple of state representatives running for re-election in the collar counties also deserve mention. Democrats Linda Chapa LaVia in Kane County and Kathy Ryg in Lake County also scored 100 percent on the IEC scorecard and are worth returning to office.
Gay Rights
Let’s start with the bad and the ugly. While other states are moving ahead with domestic partnership and gay marriage laws, Illinois has yet to ban discrimination against gays. Last year, the state senate failed to vote on a bill that would have made it illegal to discriminate against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals in Illinois. "There is, overall, a sense of frustration statewide," says Chicago’s first openly gay Alderman Tom Tunney (D-44th Ward) on gay rights issues. "There’s a struggle to get basic human rights statewide, and it hasn’t been achieved." (By the way, Chicago aldermen are not in the running this year as they were elected last year.)
The failure of this bill, a hugely important measure for human rights activists, overshadowed some of the advancements made in gay rights: Cook County created a domestic partnership registry last summer and Gov. Blagojevich appointed the state’s first openly gay cabinet officer, director of the Illinois Department of Human Rights, Rocco Claps.
State Rep. Larry McKeon (D), who is openly gay and seeking another term, has championed "human rights, not special rights." McKeon, a representative in Cook County, supports school funding, tax reform, affordable daycare and accessible and affordable healthcare. To that end, McKeon has actively opposed the closure of the Ravenswood Hospital on Chicago’s North Side. Finally, he supports urban environmental care, holding companies responsible for illegal dumping and working to clean up the North Branch of the Chicago River.
Healthcare Reform
Ever since Hillary Clinton brought the concept of universal health care to the national forefront, healthcare activists have fought an uphill battle for accessible, affordable and consistent healthcare practices. Still, nearly 1.8 million Illinois residents — about 15 percent, up from 10 percent in 1990 — have no health insurance, making affordable healthcare an issue not only for the "desperately poor," according to Madeleine Talbot, director of the Chicago Association of Communities Organizing for Reform Now (ACORN), but also for middle-income families and individuals.
While needy patients can get significantly reduced services, called "charity care," at most local hospitals, patients generally aren’t made aware that such policies exist. So groups like ACORN and the Hospital Accountability Project (HAP) are pressing hospitals to make their charity care policies known. "Hospitals get free water, free police services and free property taxes, with the only expectation in return is that they provide charity care to patients who cannot afford services," says director of HAP, Joseph Geevarghese.
Geevarghese and Talbot hope that pending legislation such as the Hospital Report Card and the Discriminatory Pricing Reform Act will change healthcare in Illinois. The Hospital Report Care would provide the public with easy access to information about the safety and responsibility of local hospitals. The Discriminatory Pricing Reform Act would protect the uninsured from inflated bills that often run two to three times greater than charges for insured patients. State Rep. Mary Flowers (D), who is running for re-election in Cook County, is the main sponsor of the Hospital Report Card in the Illinois House. (State Sen. Barrack Obama (D), who is running for U.S. Senate, is sponsoring the bill in the Illinois Senate. See Obama profile). State Sen. Miguel del Valle (D) of Cook County is running for re-election and also has a reputation of supporting healthcare reform efforts. She counts del Valle along with Obama among leaders in Springfield who "you don’t always have to lean on, threaten, cajole or promise things to... who don’t just suddenly come around at election time."
Women’s Issues
Affordable healthcare tops the list for women’s organizations across the state. They want to ensure that all women have access to pap smears, gynecological exams, breast exams and prenatal care. But legalized abortion is the big issue, particularly in suburban elections, says Pam Sutherland, director of the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council. "Choice in the collar counties seems to be [a major] deciding factor for voters," she says.
Planned Parenthood sends questionnaires to every candidate running in every race and releases yearly election endorsements based on their responses. Personal PAC, an organization dedicated to getting pro-choice candidates elected, also posts information to its Web site about contested elections involving pro-choice candidates. State representatives in Cook County who are likely to face anti-abortion challengers in the primary include Republicans Suzie Bassi and Mark Beaubien, along with Democrat Elaine Nekritz. (Nekritz, by the way, scored 100 percent on the Illinois Environmental Council’s voting scorecard.)
Planned Parenthood is working with similar groups statewide to publicly support pro-choice candidates in tight races. "We’ve got a really good shot at maintaining our pro-choice incumbents," says Sutherland.
Affordable Housing
The status of affordable housing in Illinois looks cloudy at best, and a couple of big setbacks have contributed to the problem. Democratic State Rep. Julie Hamos, who’s seeking her fourth term this year, worked hard to develop a governmental group planning process on affordable housing, which she chairs. But the effort suffered a setback when the governor took $5 million from the affordable housing trust fund to cover budget holes. Hamos continues to work toward solving the affordable housing crunch, which is particularly noticeable in urban areas. The City of Chicago came up short by some 50,000 affordable housing units last year, with a proposed plan by Mayor Daley that would create only 500-1,000 new units a year. At that rate, it would take a century to solve the problem.
Advancements are being accomplished steadily but slowly. For instance, a bill that would reduce the amount of money low-income people must pay to avoid dangerous winter shut-offs is awaiting vote when the House resumes in January. "This bill works," says Madeleine Talbot, ACORN director, "It brings in significant income to the gas company because people have a reason to pay something as opposed to being so overwhelmed by huge bills that they pay nothing at all." Similar bills exist in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Talbot counts energy reform among one of the most important social justice issues to tackle in the coming years. State Rep. Willie Delgado (D), who won a close race in the last election and is running again, has been willing to sponsor energy reform bills in the past, says Talbot. Delgado is a huge advocate, as he sits on the policy council of the largest public interest organization in the state, Citizen Action Illinois. He’s in good company as Reps. Hamos, Flowers and McKeon are also Citizen Action Illinois council members.
Governmental Reform
Government impropriety is rearing its ugly head quite frequently these days, and while ethics reform measures are on the books in Illinois, state and local governments need strong-minded individuals to ensure they are implemented and enforced, according to Diane Brown, executive director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). "In the last election a majority of candidates for statewide office in Illinois pledged to support strong ethics reform legislation. I think those pledges demonstrate that elected officials recognize the serious nature of improprieties in state government and the lack of tolerance that Illinois citizens have for that going into the future," says Brown.
Changing the voting system also ranks high on the list for progressives interested in allowing more minorities and independents a chance to run successfully for office, thereby creating more diverse choices for voters at the polls, according to Dave Igasaki, director of the Independent Voters of Illinois/Independent Precinct Organization (IVI/IPO). To that end, Green Party supporters plan to introduce several voting reform proposals in the coming months. For example, Greens requested that Cook County use a hybrid ballot system in the primaries to give Green supporters a say in mainstream parties’ primary elections, too. (See sidebar on the Green Party.) The hybrid ballot system already is legal in Illinois and, in fact, was used most recently in the early‘90s during the Harold Washington Party era, but the Cook County Board of Elections would need to approve the Green’s request for the hybrid ballot to take effect in the March primaries. Green Party members say the chances are pretty good of this happening.
Democratic State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie — a star in progressive politics who has represented Cook County constituents in the House since 1979 and who will run again — co-sponsored a bill that would allow instant runoff voting in local elections. Instant runoff voting allows voters to rank their candidates when they go to the polls so that, in the case of a tie, votes are automatically re-tallied saving the time and cost of another election. San Francisco’s recent hotly contested mayoral election made good use of instant runoff voting, saving taxpayers the anticipated cost of another election, or nearly $2 million.
While national politics seems more glamorous, local politicians are on the front lines every day, responsible for measures that reduce unnecessary expenditures, protect human rights and take care of the environment right here in Illinois. Support their efforts by getting out to vote March 16.
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Know Your Candidates & Issues Independent Voters of IL-Independent Precinct Organization (IVI/IPO) Environmental protection: Illinois Environmental Council (2003 Environmental Scorecard) Woman’s right to choose: Emily’s List Affordable healthcare and housing: Assoc of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) Hospital Accountability Project: 312-541-9566 Conscious Choice Endorsements: State Rep. Suzie Bassi (R-54th Dist.) Green Party Candidates (See Green Party Sidebar) Rex English for Chicago Committeeman (50th ward) |
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