Good news for Democrats who live in the 12th district of Illinois: William Enyart has been selected unanimously by a panel of Democrats involved in picking Jerry Costello and Brad Harriman's replacement in Chester, Illinois.
BND:
CHESTER: A panel of Democratic leaders unanimously chose Bill Enyart of Belleville on Saturday to be the party's candidate in the 12th Congressional District race this fall.
Enyart was one of seven candidates who interviewed before U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, and 12 other Democratic leaders at Chester City Hall.
Enyart will square off in the Nov. 6 general election against Republican Jason Plummer, of Fairview Heights. The winner of that contest will replace Costello, who will retire after 24 years in office.
The seven candidates who appeared for the interviews were: Enyart, Anne Keeley of Smithton, David Phelps of Eldorado, Rob Anderson of Swansea, Jeremy Lincicum of Belleville, Edward Vowell of Belleville, state Rep. John Bradley of Marion.
KMOX:
"We can't buy this election, but we can outwork them," said Enyart, who has never held elected public office.
Plummer, a lumber company executive, released a statement Saturday saying he welcomes Enyart to the race and looks forward "to having civil discussions with Bill over the coming months about how to utilize the district's natural resources and get its residents back to work."
Only two people, both Democrats, have represented the 12th District since World War II.
In November, if you live in the 12th Congressional District, a vote for Enyart is a vote for getting Pelosi back as Speaker and more importantly, moving our nation forward.
I'm hoping he's an improvement over Costello on LGBTQ issues and abortion, and will continue on the pro-labor tradition of this district.