A progressive’s guide to the Chicago/Cook County primary

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Photo by Nate Burgos Chicago Women’s March  1.21.18 (CC BY-ND 2.0) Flickr

The election flashpoint: Criminal justice reform

People might be tempted to vote for Sanders or Biden and pass over the down-ballot races. But this primary is not just, as usual, about the future of the Democratic Party and the competition (war?) between the party establishment and the progressives. Locally, it is also about the future of criminal justice reform, the flashpoint issue in Chicago. Unusually, in at least one race, the primary transcends the war between establishment and progressive Democrats, since the most important party officials have joined progressives to support incumbent States Attorney Kim Foxx. But her reform administration faces a heavily funded challenge from a billionaire family and from right-wing law-and-order forces. More about this below.

Sanders or Biden? Not much I can say here since readers by now know all they need to know about them. As I write this, Sanders lost heavily in Michigan and other March 10 primaries, after losses in Super Tuesday and S. Carolina, and there is a lot to think about and discuss. But here is my argument for now: 1. For Sanders supporters, it still makes sense to work for his campaign and for Sanders to stay in the race, because the objective is not just to contest the presidency, but to continue to move the party to the left and build a social movement inside and outside the party; 2. Support for Sanders remains a criterion for identifying progressive candidates down ballot; 3. If people you talk have decided on Biden, that doesn’t mean they are not progressives (if you think so, you write off the people you need in your movement for change, and we need to respect the totally progressive fear of a Trump victory). A slogan for the times: Unity … with differences.

“Progressive” or progressive

Who are the progressives, and what is progressive? You can argue about who fits the description, since “progressive” is not just a description, it is a politically charged and ambiguous term, and a political marketing label. For example, the progressive community in Chicago was divided in the 2019 mayoral election, with some supporting Lori Lightfoot and others supporting County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Each had very similar and very progressive, left platforms; each was supported by different networks of people who identified as progressive. There were reasons to support either, reasons to distrust either, but the arguments were sometimes (often?) bitter and divisive. If we can now say the victorious Lightfoot supporters were overly optimistic, we will never know if the defeated Preckwinkle would have unpleasantly surprised her supporters. Perhaps the binaries of progressive – corporate neoliberal, or progressive-Chicago machine oversimplify, at least in some of the contests.*

So how do you identify progressives? Go beyond, beneath and between: Don’t just look at the positions and rhetoric, look at their past words and behavior. But also look at candidates’ connections to progressive activists and organizations. What matters is not just electing people with good policies, but voting to build the progressive movements, identifying the candidates who understand that the transformative social change we need comes not mainly from the right people in government, but also from the disruptive power of broadly-based people’s movements holding officials to account and pushing them to act for the common good. So I’m going to draw attention to candidates who are supported by progressive and left activists and organizations, some of whom have shown they understand the importance of building a movement. No need to talk much about Bernie Sanders — this is his brand, what he means by his slogans “we need a political revolution” and “not me, us.”

How to cast your ballot

Same-day registration to vote in Illinois. Though we are past the deadline for regular registration, you can register to vote in person during the “grace period” at the office of your election authority from February 19 – March 17. In Chicago, you can register to vote in person on election day March 17 at your polling place. Find your polling place here.

You can find your candidates and sample ballots with simple web searches for Chicago/Cook County/ or Illinois Primary. Sample ballots, your voting location, and information about candidates are at Ballotpedia, and there’s a quicker route to basic Chicago info here, with the full candidate list for Chicago here and Cook County here.

The most important races are seriously contested. Obviously, for president; but then the States Attorney race; Marie Newman’s second challenge to anti-abortion and otherwise right-wing Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3rd); Rachel Ventura challenging centrist incumbent Bill Foster (IL-11th); the judicial contests; and the clerk of the circuit court (obscure, but very important — see explanation below).

If you would like my voting preferences in list form, without commentary, in the order in which they will appear on a ballot,  here is my pa(u)lm card. Note this is a list only of candidates from the progressive wing of the party, and if you want a complete list, go to the Board of Elections sites in Chicago or Cook County.

I’ll give details on candidates below, but if you want a different  list of endorsements by a quirky, snarky, progressive counter-pundit, stop reading my blog and go to the more entertaining Girl, I Guess: A Progressive Voter Guide to the 2020 Democratic Primary in Cook County and Beyond (or, GirlIGuess.com).**

Judging the judges

These judges were rated “NR” (Not Recommended) by William Hogarth, in “The Bench” (1758). The ones that do no harm are asleep.

I want to draw special attention to two guides to the judicial candidates. When people talk about criminal justice reform, they think first about police, then prosecutors, but the problems go all through the system. Judges do more to deliver daily injustice to more people on an individual level than any other official; how odd it is that they are the most difficult to learn about and select, and how undemocratic the process is.

Who has time, skills and access to research their past decisions and conduct? There certainly are fair judges — good luck identifying them. Two sites help with that, where you can also fill out a ballot for your district. One, “Vote for Judges,”gathers the ratings of lawyers of the 12 organizations of the Alliance Bar Associations, including, for example, the Black Women Lawyer’s Association of Greater Chicago or the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association.

The other, Injustice Watch, gives line-by-line listing of judges, flagging them for past “controversies,” negative ratings, whether they are appointed or Democratic party picks, whether they are former state’s attorney or public defender. You can also click the “info” link for each candidate and read bios and background research.

(I would supplement this by going to the Fraternal Order of Police website, if you’re curious which judges they endorse … ).

Injustice Watch has serious, evidence-based reporting. It’s a social justice research and advocacy organization co-founded by investigative journalists Rob Warden (former editor of The Chicago Lawyer, co-founder of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University Law School) and Rick Tulski (Pulitzer  Prize-winning reporter, formerly with The Philadelphia Inquirer, LA Times, San Jose Mercury News, founding director of Medill Watchdog at Northwestern University).

One thing to know about judges. Candidates slated by the Democratic Party are insiders; after they are slated, they are expected to contribute $40,000 to the county’s party organization. The slate is selected by party committee members, many of whom are entrenched machine operatives. Criteria are party loyalty, electability … and who knows what else given or promised to committee members. Notoriously corrupt Ald. Ed Burke, once one of the most powerful party bosses in Illinois, ran the party’s judicial selections until the FBI raided his office.

Since voters know little about the judges, many vote according to gender or ethnicity. Candidates notoriously have “changed their names to sound Irish” and “Irish women have a particular edge with voters” (Injustice Watch).

Check out the “no” votes after the election

Judges up for retention almost invariably meet their 60% vote floor to remain in office. But the “no” votes are curious. After the 2018 midterms, I looked at the votes against retention and found 20% “no” votes for every judge except one, who had 19% voting against him. It would be very cool if 20% of voters researched the judges, but my other theory is that 20% thought they were all pretty bad and were voting against the system.

Voteforjudges.org and Injustice Watch don’t list political endorsements, but judgeships are political jobs. I’ll list a few endorsements I’ve found (other than Democratic Party endorsements, which are in the Injustice Watch list).

Honoré Daumier, “The Three Judges.” 1858-1860. Art Institute of Chicago.   CC0 Public Domain Designation

Illinois Supreme Court

There are too many judicial races to detail. But here are notes on the most important one — the Illinois Supreme Court race for the Freeman vacancy. Charles Freeman was the first Black elected Supreme Court Justice, and Cobbs, Howse and Neville all are seeking to fill his vacancy to become the second black elected Supreme Court justice in Illinois history.

Judges typically are part of the political class and comfortable in a system permeated with bias, unjust convictions and sentencing, and unaccountability. The Supreme Court makes the rules and there is little incentive for reform. Should you vote for a candidate committed to reform but without conventional qualifications for the job? We’re not supposed to.

Daniel Epstein has no judicial experience and so was ineligible for favorable recommendations from BAR associations. That means we’re not supposed to vote for him. But he has a progressive agenda that has won the support of an impressive list of lawyers and reformers.

Epstein’s campaign is unusually political — he wants to change court rules (set by the Supreme Court) to remove judges’ power to decide on their own conflicts of interest and corruption, end cash bail, ban discriminatory jury selection, expand discovery rights and restorative justice practices — and a list of other reforms whose thrust is to democratize trials and give more power to defendants.

The professional associations don’t like him at all, though two praise his intelligence. But he has an impressive list of progressive endorsers, including U of Chicago law professors, prominent progressive lawyers, iconic reformer politic Prof. Dick Simpson, as well as Our Revolution, Personal PAC, Chicago NOW  PAC, Action Now and Teamsters Local 777.

Dick Simpson:”I endorse Daniel Epstein for Supreme Court Justice because he has the most comprehensive reform program. It includes protection against judicial corruption by having independent parties determine judicial conflict and recusals, ending cash bail, and sentencing guidelines. He will fight to reform Illinois’ flawed judicial system.”

Scott Neville Jr, appointed to the Supreme Court when Freeman retired, is endorsed by SEIU 73, SEIU Healthcare I I, AFSCME Council 31, Chicago Federation of Labor, and Independent Voters of Illinois – Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO).

Shelley A. Harris, who put $2 million of his own money into his campaign, is rated not qualified or not recommended by every one of the six minority BAR associations. My rating is: Huh?

Cynthia Y. Cobbs has been an Appellate Court Judge; Freeman was her mentor.

Margaret Stanton McBride was a judge for 30 years, had been a prosecutor, good ratings and comments from all but not recommended by the Cook County Bar Association (Black Lawyers).

Nathaniel Roosevelt Howse, excellent ratings, endorsed by US Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

Jesse G. Reyes is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7.

Note that the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed 22 other candidates for judge.

On the other judges, beware of the mailers you receive. You will be surprised at the comments about these candidates in “Injustice Watch.” The ratings by the main BAR associations, you might remember, express the politics of the legal establishment — privileged, mostly male and white (not to mention old), enmeshed with Democratic Party insiders. Easy decision for some, if all the groups say “Not Recommended.” One progressive reflex is to vote against former prosecutors, but some of their opponents look worse. You can also pick out judges with negative ratings from the minority and women BAR associations, which might flag egregious insensitivity.

 

“Moderation is a dream killer, it would have you believe that we can pay for wars and a bloated military budget but we cannot fully fund public schools.” Stacy Davis-Gates, V-P Chicago Teachers Union, at Sanders rally 3.10.20.

Clerk of the Circuit Court

A poorly watched race for a notoriously corrupt and opaque office, but extremely important for people who get caught up in the court system. Modernization and corruption (1400 jobs and a budget of $124 million) are the main issues in this office, with modernization the most pressing issue, in a bureaucracy which still uses triplicates with carbon paper. If you can’t get access to your court records, that matters a bit if you’re sitting in jail because your files are missing or looking for child support payments. It matters also to reporters — it’s harder to investigate an office which can’t find its ass files and anyway doesn’t have to comply with FOIA requests.

Civil Rights Attorney Jacob Meister is the only candidate whose website says he will be “an active voice for social justice.” He is the only one independent of political power centers and machine politics. His endorsements include leading progressives, including iconic anti-machine reformer David Orr, Ald. Scott Waguespack,  Ald. Maria Hadden, State Rep. Theresa Mah, 33rdWard Commiteeman Aaron Goldstein, Chicago NOW PAC, LGBTQ Victory Fund, Progressive Action PAC, Northside and Southside Democracy for America … and his site even lists an endorsement by Girl, I Guess. Also endorsed by The Daily Herald.

The Tribune editorial board, deep thinkers, endorse Richard Boykin because he opposed County Board Pres. Preckwinkle and the soda tax; the Sun-Times endorses Carbonargi, who came from the Board of Review and is endorsed by the Democratic Party.

States Attorney: It’s about Criminal Justice Reform

The most important Cook County-wide race is for States Attorney, one of the most powerful county officials, employing over 700 prosecutors. What is at stake is criminal justice reform, in a county notorious for police torture, forced confessions, prosecutorial misconduct and mass incarceration. The incumbent Kim Foxx was elected on a reform platform after her predecessor Anita Alvarez was the target of Black Lives Matter groups and progressives for her role in the Laquan McDonald coverup. An unprecedented coalition of activists and reformers defeated her in the “Bye, Anita!”campaign, awarding Foxx 58% of the vote in the primary.

Since then, Foxx moved quickly to prioritize serious cases and reduce felony prosecutions for minor offenses, eliminate cash bail for non-violent crimes, exonerate victims of forced confessions and wrongful prosecutions, expunge thousands of marijuana convictions. As a result, the incarceration rate has dropped 20%, with Foxx dismissing 2300 drug cases that Alvarez would have prosecuted and declining to pursue criminal charges in almost 3000 potential felony cases, many of them for minor shoplifting or drug offenses.

This is the contest that best reveals Chicago’s racial divide over the criminal justice system. Foxx has been opposed from the beginning by the Fraternal Order of Police and law-and-order forces, who have tried to frame the election around her handling of the Jussie Smollett case rather than her reform agenda. In one Fraternal Order of Police protest, police were joined by white nationalists, who are exploiting the issue for recruiting. Curiously, all of her challengers are white. Completely random prediction — most of the votes against her will be in majority white precincts.

Of the three white lawyers opposing Foxx, the most serious threat comes from son-of-a-billionaire Bill Conway, who has seemingly unlimited resources for ad buys. (His father is William E. Conway Jr, co-founder of the war-profiteering Carlyle Group; Conway donated $7.5 million to the campaign, almost $11 million total from Carlyle executives.) The opposition research is gathered at cancelconway.com, with links to documentation.

Endorsements: While this race is another test of the power of money against the progressive movement, Foxx’s endorsements span the Democratic establishment and progressive activists.  In addition to prominent Democratic politicians, from Gov. Pritzker, Illinois’ two senators, and Mayor Lightfoot on down to US representatives, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren, Foxx is supported by Chicago’s progressive unions and prominent activists, such as the Grassroots Collaborative’s Amisha Patel. (Note: Party boss Mike Madigan is not one of her endorsers and left her off his palm card.) Foxx is also endorsed by Independent Voters of Illinois – Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO).

U.S. House of Representatives

IL -03 Marie Newman, progressive challenger to incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski. Lipinski is an anti-choice Democrat who opposes Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, voted against Obamacare and against coverage for pre-existing conditions, and has supported privatizing Social Security and cutting Social Security and Medicare. Lipinski is one of only three anti-abortion Democratic Congressmen, even joining Republicans in an amicus brief for the Supreme Court to consider overturning Roe v. Wade. He also didn’t endorse Barack Obama in 2012, voted against the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), opposed funding stem-cell research, and marriage equality. He opposed a $15/hr minimum wage, voted for the Republican version of the Religious Freedom Act (businesses can refuse service if it violates their religious beliefs). He also opposed the DREAM Act, but now supports a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers.

Newman ran against him in 2018, losing by 2 points.  She supports Medicare for All, $15/hr minimum wage, paid leave time, universal childcare, financial transaction tax and progressive tax on “ultra-millionaires,” student debt relief and phase-in of free state college.

Lipinski was supported by the Democratic establishment in 2018 and helped this time by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which blacklists companies that work for primary challengers to incumbents. This hurt Marie Newman’s campaign, but this time prominent Democratic office-holders are supporting her, and DCCC chair Cheri Bustos was pressured into canceling a fundraiser for Lipinski.

Newman is endorsed by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Justice Democrats, Indivisible Chicago, Sunrise Movement, abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood, NARAL and Emily’s List, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Chicago’s socialist city council members Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and Byron Sigcho-Lopez, the People’s Lobby, SEIU 73, National Nurses United, IVI-IPO.

Working to re-elect Lipinski: Pro-choice organizations like the Susan B. Anthony List but also some unions, such as the Operating Engineers, rewarding him for his largely pro-union voting record. He is also the only Congressional candidate endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police.

Il-01  Robert Emmons. Emmons is running against Rep. Bobby Rush, a co-founder of the Illinois Black Panther Party. Once a progressive, Rush has been heavily funded by energy companies, opposes the Green New Deal, was national co-chair for Mike Bloomberg’s campaign and backed Bill Daley for mayor in 2019. (But note: He supports Medicare for All, joined 16 other progressives in Congress to opposed a resolution condemning Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel.) The Better Government Association has called him out for accepting $1 million from SBC (now AT&T) for a “technology center” — never built, the money not accounted for. Quite a descent since his victory when Barack Obama challenged him in the 2000 primary, but he had also voted for the 1994 crime bill.

Emmons is  endorsed by the Sunrise Movement, Indivisible Chicago, Brand New Congress, Our Revolution, The People for Bernie,  University of Chicago Maroon, and my third favorite presidential candidate, Marianne Williamson. Not to mention the execrable editorial board of The Chicago Tribune.

Chuy Garcia at Sanders rally, Grant Park, 3.7.20. Bernie Sanders post, Facebook.

IL-04. Rep.Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, running unopposed, is one of the key political officeholders in Chicago’s progressive community, and he has played an outsized role in promoting progressive candidates.  Garcia has a long history in the progressive movement, organizing and running against the Democratic machine — joining Harold Washington’s mayoral campaign, community organizing in Little Village, uniting progressives in his mayoral run against Rahm Emanuel in 2015 — which forced Emanuel into a runoff — and supporting a network of progressive anti-machine candidates then and after. He replaced Cong. Luis Gutiérrez, with Gutiérrez’s support, joining the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Garcia co-sponsored Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal resolution, Pramila Jayapal’s Medicare for All Act, the College Affordability Act, and is one of 17 members of Congress who voted against condemning the Boycott, Divestment Sanctions Movement, along with other leading progressives — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib). The only other Illinois Congressman to join them was Bobby Rush. Endorsements, not listed in Garcia’s website, include SEIU 1, SEIU 73, SEIU Healthcare I I. 

IL-07  Anthony Clark and Kina Collins challenging Danny K. Davis.

Davis, a long-time progressive, defeated Clark in 2018, 88% to 12%. Davis endorsed Biden before the Iowa caucus and supported the Republican effort to roll back Dodd-Frank regulation for smaller banks, but he has been a progressive vote through his career, including supporting Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.

Both Collins and Clark support a progressive agenda, described in detail by Girl, I Guess, even including decriminalizing sex work and support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.

Kina Collins is a former organizer for Physicians for a National Health Program (single-payer advocacy organization), endorsed by Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th), the Center for Popular Democracy Action, and some local officials. Clark is endorsed by Brand New Congress, Our Revolution Illinois, Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, a number of local Bernie Sanders organizations and the Chicago Sun-Times.

IL-11 Will County Board member Rachel Ventura is challenging incumbent Rep. Bill Foster, a physicist who, unlike Ventura, opposes the Green New Deal and has voted against climate control legislation, opposes single-payer health insurance, and is heavily funded by the financial sector ($266,500 from FIRE — finance, insurance and real estate). Ventura supports the signature left-progressive programs — Green New Deal, Medicare for All, free public college.

Ventura has been endorsed by Brand New Congress, Sunrise Movement Chicago, Our Revolution (national), Friends of the Earth Action, Blue America PAC, DSA-W Suburban Illinois, among others. And Girl, I Guess.

Ward Committee elections

I’m putting this section incongruously above the Illinois House and Senate because these party offices are important for grass-roots electoral organizing and there are a small number of progressive candidates. Committee persons fill vacancies by appointment, recommend judges, and get out the vote.

1stWard. Jay Ramirez is the only candidate qualified with enough uncontested signatures to be listed on the ballot for the race, but two others are waging a write-in campaign: Ald. Daniel La Spata, DSA member and opponent of gentrification, and Lauren “Young” Weber, a member of a number of community organizations. Her website doesn’t make clear her political positions. La Spata opposes the ban on rent control and supports increasing the number of affordable units in new development, doesn’t accept donations from developers, supports the CPAC bill on community control of police, among other progressive initiatives. La Spata is endorsed for committeeman by Reclaim Chicago.

10thward. Incumbent Susan Sadlowski-Garza challenged by Yessenia Carreón, former staffer for machine Democratic alderman John Pope. Carreón apparently has no website and her facebook page  doesn’t mention political positions. Sadlowski-Garza endorsed Bernie Sanders in 2020 and was a Sanders delegate in 2016. She is a veteran teacher, still a member of the Chicago Teachers Union. Chair of the Chicago City Council Progressive Reform Caucus, campaigned to shut down KCBX Terminal, a petcoke processing plant owned by the Koch Brothers. She is Mayor Lightfoot’s handpicked chair of the City Council Workforce Committee, where she campaigned for the Fair Work Week ordinance and living wage ordinance — and supported the teachers strike despite her alliance with the mayor.

14th Ward. State Rep. Aaron Ortiz against (former) machine boss Ald. Ed Burke, now under federal indictment for racketeering and bribery. This is the most important — and sensational — race for ward committee — Ortiz  defeated Burke’s brother for his state house seat, and defeating Ed Burke would be another blow against machine politics. Ortiz has endorsed Bernie Sanders. Alicia Elena Martinez is also running.

25thWard. Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez. Sigcho-Lopez is a DSA member, a Bernie Sanders delegate to the National Nominating Convention. Running unopposed.

33rdWard. Aaron Goldstein. Goldstein is challenged by State Sen. Iris Y. Martinez. Goldstein, who ran for Illinois Attorney General, is endorsed by members of the City Council Reform Caucus Andre Vasquez (40th), Rossana Rodriguez (33rd), and Carlos Rosa (35th). He is Chief of the Civil Division in the Cook County Public Defender’s Office and was part of the grassroots movement that defeated Dick Mell, once a power center in the Democratic machine, for control of the 33rd ward.

40thWard. Ald. Andre VasquezDSA member. Endorsed by the prominent Chicago progressive politicians: Cong. Chuy Garcia (IL-4th), Cong. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9th), State Rep. Will Guzzardi, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, Ald. Matt Martin (47th); the People’s Lobby, One People’s Campaign.  He is opposed by Maggie O’Keefe,who is endorsed by IVI-IPO.

50thWard. Halle Quezada (Halle Rasmussen Quezada Olmos), CPS teacher and water safety activist, against Debra Silverstein, appointed by her husband former state senator Ira Silverstein when he resigned the position. Quezada is endorsed by State Rep. Will Guzzardi (39th), the People’s Lobby, Reclaim Chicago, IVI-IPO, Aaron Goldstein (33rdWard Committeeperson), Asian-American Midwest Progressives, Young Democrats of Illinois, Northside Democracy for America, IVI-IPO.

Illinois House

1stHouse District: Rep Aaron Ortiz. Ortiz, a former teacher and CTU member, worked on Chuy Garcia’s 2015 campaign for mayor, defeated party boss Ald. Ed Burke’s brother, Dan Burke, in 2018,  Endorsed by CTU, United Working Families, Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, SEIU Illinois State Council, NOW-IL, both Chicago dailies, among other organizations. Ortiz is challenged by Alicia Elena Martinez.

2ndHouse District: Rep. Theresa Mah. Endorsed by CTU, United Working Families, Reclaim Chicago, the People’s Lobby, Chicago Sun-Times, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. Her main challenger, Bobby  Martinez-Olson, is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police.

3rdHouse District: Nidia Carranza.  Endorsed by United Working Families, Grassroots Illinois Collaborative, Illinois NOW, IVI-IPO, Reclaim Chicago, The People’s Lobby, and both progressive and mainstream unions, including the Chicago Teachers Union, AFSCME Council 31, Chicago Federation of Labor, Illinois AFL-CIO, Illinois Nurses Association. Carranza is challenged by Eva Dina Delgado.

4thHouse District: Rep. Delia Ramirez. Endorsed by CTU, United Working Families, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. Running unopposed.

9thHouse District: Lakesia Collins. Endorsed by CTU, United Working Families, SEIU Healthcare II. Collins, who is an organizer for SEIU 73 and a former nursing home union steward, has six opponents.

19thHouse District. Lindsey LaPointe. LaPointe is challenged by Patricia D. “Patti Vazquez” Bonnin and Joe Dupechin. LaPointe is endorsed by The People’s Lobby and IVI-IPO.

21st House District. Edgar Gonzalez. Endorsed by Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. (Gonzalez had worked on Garcia’s staff.)

39thHouse District: Rep. Will Guzzardi. Guzzardi is a Warren delegate to the National Nominating Convention. Endorsed by United Working Families. Guzzardi is unopposed.

Illinois Senate

11thSenate District. Celina Villanueva. Endorsed by CTU, United Working Families, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. Villanueva had worked as a civic and youth engagement manager at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Sen. Robert Peters, rally for Sanders. “I believe if we struggle, yes, we can win Medicare for All, yes, we can win College for All and cancel student debt yes, we can end endless wars.” Video grab: Bernie Sanders Facebook.

13thSenate District. Sen. Robert Peters. Peters is a Sanders delegate. Endorsed by CTU, National Nurses United, United Working Families, the People’s Lobby, IVI-IPO.  Peters is challenged by Ken Thomas.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioners

There are 10 candidates for the Democratic primary for this office. The agency’s budget is over $1 billion, it has 2,000 employees, has enormous landholding, and it’s a part of Illinois government, so naturally it has a history of … ethical issues. There are nine commissioners, with three elected every two years for six-year terms. Frank Avila and Shundar Lin are the ones with relevant degrees and experience as a civil engineer, but Avila is tied in with Democratic establishment politics and Lin ran as a Republican in 2018 and has apparently no endorsers or campaign contributors. My best guess is Davis, Dubuclet, and Sepúlveda.

Incumbent Cameron “Cam” Davis, an attorney, was Obama’s “point person” on Great Lakes restoration, headed the Alliance for the Great Lakes, litigated for the National Wildlife Foundation and co-chaired Obama’s Asian carp coordinating committee and worked for the EPA. Slated by the party, he is endorsed by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun
Time and The Daily Herald,  by progressives including Rep. Chuy Garcia and Rep. Jan Schakowsky, by the Sierra Club, Citizen Action- Illinois,  SEIU 73, SEIU Healthcare I I, Personal PAC,  IVI-IPO.

Incumbent Kim Dubuclet is endorsed by the Tribune, Sun-Times, Daily Herald,  SEIU 73, SEIU Healthcare I I, Personal PAC, IVI-IPO, Ald. Andre Vasquez, Northside and Southside DFA, Mayor Lightfoot and County Board President Preckwinkle.

Eira Corral Sepúlveda is endorsed by Personal PAC, Tribune, Sun-Times, SEIU Illinois State Council PAC, and has campaign donations from these progressives: Jesus “Chuy Garcia,” Clem Balanoff (Dir. of Our Revolution in Illinois), Friends of Theresa Mah.

Frank Avila, incumbent, is endorsed by IVI-IPO. He has a BS in civil engineering from UI-UC and an MS in Finance from U of Arizona. He received donations from defeated machine boss Richard Mell and John Fritchey.

Deyon Dean had a business administration degree (bachelors?) from SIU, was forced to resign as mayor of Riverdale, is CEO of a security company and has donations from Commonwealth Edison, AT&T, and Friends of Ald. Carrie Austin.

Patricia Theresa Flynn was Village of Crestwood trustee. No information on education or endorsements, some individual donations. She has an Irish name and her website photo has her in a bright green dress.

Mike Cashman is a high school teacher and a water polo coach. His website shows no relevant background, no endorsements, and some individual donations.

Michael Grace also has an uninformative website. It says he was vice president/trustee of the Lyons Township Sanitary District. No endorsements, donations show a mainly self-funded campaign but with a donation from Citizens for John Cullerton for State Senate.

Shundar Lin has the most impressive resume … well, along with Davis. He is the only person with advanced degrees in engineering, including a Ph.D. in Sanitary Engineering from Syracuse U., and his website lists books and manuals and peer-reviewed articles. He is a retired engineer, and maybe he would be the best person for the job, but then he ran as a Republican in 2018.

Will the Green Party have qualified candidates? Check back closer to November’s general election.

Board of Review, 1st District

The first district doesn’t include Chicago, Evanston or Oak Park, but this race is interesting. Abdelnasser Rashid was chief policy officer for Cook County Assessor, Fritz Kaegi. Kaegi swept into office beating the Democratic machine,  promising reforms of a racially biased system, after investigative reporting exposed how the office disproportionately assessed minority and low income homes at higher rates and gave rate reductions to businesses and wealthy property owners. Rashid had also been deputy chief of staff for Cook County Clerk David Orr, an iconic good-government progressive.

Rashid is opposed by property tax lawyer and former prosecutor Tammy Wendt. She is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 and the Cook County Sheriff’s Police FOP Lodge 4, and a few suburban mayors.

Rashid’s endorsements  cross the progressive-establishment divide. He has the support of the Cook County Democratic Party, Senator Durbin and Mayor Lightfoot, along with The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Herald. But he also has the support of David Orr, Cong. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Cong. Jan Schakowsky, and, among others, State Rep. Theresa Mah and Cook County Commissioners Alma Anaya and Brandon Johnson, and Our Revolution Illinois, Citizen Action, and Northside Democracy for America.

Would Rashid be the first Palestinian-American to hold Cook County-wide office?

Some sources

I highly recommend the following sources, in addition to the daily newspapers: The Ben Joravsky Show podcast and Back Room Deal, with Joravsky and Maya Dukmasova; and their columns in the Chicago Reader; The Chicago Reporter, in particular the articles by Curtis Black; and “Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers.”

Illinois Sunshine   is an invaluable source for tracking campaign contributions.

Two notes

*About the divisions among progressives in Chicago’s 2019 mayoral election: I explained why I thought progressives should respect and not dismiss each others’ positions in two blogposts, arguing that based on their records, both candidates were problematic … but gave reasons for optimism:  “Preckwinkle: Reformer in the machine” and “Lori Lightfoot’s record: The corporate insider as reformer.”

** Girl, I Guess: A Progressive Voter Guide to the 2020 Democratic Primary in Cook County and Beyond. I don’t follow some of the politics of Stephanie Skora’s guide, but I enjoyed reading it and found it helpful.  Stephanie Skora  describes herself as “a grouchy trans dyke, and an anarchist with a political science degree.” She podcasts at TacoBagel, is the Associate Executive Director at Brave Space Alliance, on the Coordinating Committee for Jewish Voice for Peace – Chicago, and a founding organizer of the Trans Liberation Collective.  The site’s motto might be, as she quotes “a learned Rabbi,” “Why choose between voting and complaining when you can do both?”  Ranging from witty to silly, it’s a delightful read as detailed as it is snarky, with essay-length comments on some of the more important candidates.

Sources for the endorsements

Chicago Democratic Socialists of America.Their only endorsements aare Bernie Sanders and Anthony Clark for Congress.

Justice Democrats, helped elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress in 2018. “Fighting for the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, free college, ending mass incarceration and deportation and rejecting all corporate PAC money.”endorsing Marie Newman in Illinois.

United Working Families. Chaired by Stacey Davis-Gates, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union. Affiliated with the CTU, Illinois Nurses Association, SEIU Healthcare, United Electrical Workers Western Region, National Association of Letter Carriers Brfanch 11, some ward independent political organizations, Action Now, Grassroots Illinois Action.

Reclaim Chicago. Reclaim Chicago is supported by National Nurses United and The People’s Lobby. Endorses Bernie Sanders, Kim Foxx, Marie Newman, Robert Peters, Will Guzzardi (IL-29),  among others.

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

The People’s Lobby. Endorsed Bernie Sanders.

One People’s Campaign. Endorses Bernie Sanders, Ald. Andre Vasquez for 40thWard Democratic Committeeperson.

Indivisible Chicago, Getting out the vote for Marie Newman.

Move-On endorses Marie Newman.

Brand New Congress   recruits, trains, provides resources to progressive House and Senate candidates who pledge to support  each other, share resources including volunteer networks, and refuse PAC money.

Center for Popular Democracy Action. A direct action and grassroots advocacy group connected with “partners” nationwide, including many formerly in  ACORN. In Illinois, endorsed Kina Collins and Cong. Lauren Underwood, elsewhere, “the squad.”

Personal PAC. “Pro-choice. No exceptions.” They endorse a huge list of judges — but then it’s unusual for a Chicago area judge to be anti-abortion.

Chicago Teachers Union,SEIU 73,SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana, National Nurses United, AFSCME Council 31.

 

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