Tomorrow is Primary Day here in Illinois and Cook County has several important races for progressives to participate in by pulling a Democratic ballot.
Cook County Clerk David Orr's office has details on where and how to vote plus lists of the candidates and issues on your local ballot.
I'd like to highlight some of the people I'm supporting. First up, countywide are races for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and the County Board Presidency. Also, since I live in the northwest burbs, I'd like to highlight a few folks in my area.
I'm supporting several people that I think are worthy of our progressive vote.
For Metropolitan Water Reclamation, Deb Shore is the only candidate with our environment truly in her heart. She's been fighting for clean, healthy open space and wetlands in the Chicago area for years. She understands that MWRD shouldn't be about how to process water but about the water itself -- from raindrop to wetland or Lake Michigan to sink faucet. Not that it really matters but Deb's been endorsed by the Trib, Sun Times, Daily Herald and Daily Southtown. All that and she's a really nice person who isn't running just to be warm a seat on some commission -- she's running to make our lives better (and save us tax dollars through common sense environmental policies along the way).
For County Board President, Forrest Claypool is a fiscally responsible, long-term/big-picture candidate whereas the incumbent prez, John Stroger, is an entrenched machine politician (so much so that even Bill Clinton owed him a chit and did a radio ad for him in recent weeks). While clearly Pres. Stroger's very recent severe stroke has thrown a wild card into this election (and my heart goes out to the Stroger family) it doesn't change the fact that this race is about ideas and policies and I think Forrest Claypool's plans for everything from budget matters to open space (he'd like to see more intergovernmental agreements between the county and local villages and park districts) are clearly better not just for our families now but for future generations as well.
In the 33rd State Senate race, Dan Kotowski is hands down the better candidate and better person overall. He's a strong progressive who stands up for our values and believes in what he discusses and he has experience in the state capitol from his days as a lobbyist fighting the gun lobby to pass common sense gun violence laws. His opponent (who shall not be named) seems to think having enough money to buy political hired guns is a good qualification (and can his opponent please stop with all the yard signs!??! they keep putting them up everywhere they're not supposed to and without permission to boot).
In the Illinois 10th Congressional District, I didn't have much of a horse in the race until I met Zane Smith -- granted I met him early in his campaign but he really didn't come across as a strong candidate. He sorta just made the motions and repeated what he'd heard DC Dems say on tv. I've also met Dan Seals and I think he'd make a fine progressive candidate to run against the conservative incumbent Mark Kirk (much more conservative than the compliant press makes him out to be -- Kirk has local reporters wrapped around his finger). What really sealed the deal for me was that Zane Smith sent out a nasty negative mailer this past weekend (3 days before the primary) -- really uncool in such a relatively cordial race. I'm supporting Dan Seals in IL-10.
Finally, if you live in Elk Grove Township it is your solemn duty as a progressive and a patriot to vote for Kent Kirkwood for Democratic Committeeman. This is literally the last race on the ballot but clearly one of the most important if we're going to have any chance to beat archconservative Tom DeLay acolyte Peter Roskum in the Illinois 6th Congressional District from which the adulterer Henry Hyde is retiring. The incumbent Dem Committeeman is Joan Brennan -- she's been in that office nearly a quarter century and has zilch to show for it. All the local electeds are GOPs and the lazy Brennan doesn't bother to put up even a token Dem opponent against them. L.A.M.E. Vote for Kent Kirkwood for Elk Grove Township Democratic Committeeman.