* Lynn Sweet…
Alexi Giannoulias, in a four-way Democratic primary for secretary of state, picked up the endorsement of Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., on Wednesday, the second member of the House delegation to support his bid. […]
Earlier, Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Ill., and former Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., announced endorsements for Giannoulias. […]
“This election is critically important as Republican Secretaries of States across the country are implementing extreme right-wing policies that amount to the worst voter suppression effort since Jim Crow,” Schakowsky said in a statement.
“These underhanded tactics are solely aimed at suppressing the vote, particularly among voters of color, and restricting access to the ballot box.”
The only connection the SoS has to voting is the motor voter program.
* A couple of more from Politico…
— Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) announced the endorsements of 40-plus Illinois elected officials and community leaders for his re-election campaign. This slate of endorsements includes state senators, state representatives, county elected officials, school board members, village trustees, mayors, and community activists. […]
— Anna Valencia has been endorsed by the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 1 in her bid for secretary of state.
Casten’s list is here.
* Subscribers were told about this the other day…
Cook County sheriff’s official Becky Levin plans to kick off her campaign to seek the Illinois House seat of outgoing Majority Leader Greg Harris on Thursday, calling herself “a crime fighter and a public health expert, who has a proven record of results.”
The first candidate to officially enter next year’s race to fill the North Side Democrat’s House seat, Levin grew up in northwest suburban Des Plaines and has lived in Uptown for the last 10 years, describing herself as a “proud” policy wonk and nerd.
After more than two decades in health care, she has served as the executive director of public policy for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart since January 2020. Levin pointed to her background and “breadth of experience” as the main reasons why she should succeed Harris.
This person as well…
* Press release…
Candidate for State Representative in Illinois’s 51st House District, Nabeela Syed, announced this morning she has been endorsed by State Representative Theresa Mah.
Rep. Mah shared the following statement with her endorsement: “Nabeela is a driven community organizer who has helped shape winning movements for progressive issues on local and national scales. She has a track record of mobilizing voters, especially young voters and voters of color, which will be critical for our party in 2022. I am proud to give her my endorsement.”
“Representative Mah is a tireless advocate for Illinois families in Springfield and has been a champion on issues including education, economic opportunity, and immigrant rights,” said Syed. “I’m proud and honored to have her support.”
Rep. Mah joins Sen. Ram Villivalam in endorsing Nabeela Syed’s campaign for State House.
*** UPDATE *** Not unexpected…
The Illinois AFL-CIO, representing nearly 900,000 workers and their families across the state, today has thrown its political support behind Nikki Budzinski for Congress in the 2022 election.
The AFL-CIO’s Executive Board voted today to strongly support Budzinski, who has announced her intention to run for the Democratic nomination for the 13th District seat in Congress stretching across central and southern Illinois earlier this summer.
Budzinski, a native of Peoria, has devoted her professional life to fighting for working families and the middle class since graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her grandfather was a union painter, and her grandmother was a public school teacher. She interned for former Congressman Dick Gephardt, former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, and for Planned Parenthood.
Budzinski has served as Political Representative for the International Association of Fire Fighters, Associate Director for Legislative and Political Action for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and as senior advisor to Gov. J.B. Pritzker on labor issues. She left her role as chief of staff to President Joe Biden’s budget office earlier this year to run for Congress.
She has lined up an impressive list of endorsements for the 13th District seat in short order, from unions representing electrical and communications workers, transit workers and firefighters to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, and a number of Illinois federal and state elected officials.
Budzinski promises to put working families first in Congress, through a $15 an hour federal minimum wage, a federal tax credit for families with children, and stronger health care, prescription drug and job training programs.
The new 13th District, reconstructed after the 2020 Census and recently approved by the state Legislature, is expected to stretch from the Metro East near St. Louis along Interstate 55 through parts of Springfield, then east through Decatur and to Champaign in central Illinois.
“This was an easy decision for our board because Nikki Budzinski is a true, proven champion for working families,” said Tim Drea, Illinois AFL-CIO President. “At a time when our nation’s politics are so polarized, we know Nikki will put working and middle-class families first and always be a voice for investing in the workforce that drives our country’s success. We look forward to supporting her candidacy in 2022 and working closely with her to put Illinois on the right track in Washington.”
Budzinski said the AFL-CIO endorsement is a major boost to her efforts to put working families first in Congress.
“I am truly honored to be endorsed by the Illinois AFL-CIO in my campaign for Illinois’ 13th Congressional district. I am proud to have spent my career working on behalf of working people; fighting for a $15 minimum wage, paid sick time, safe working conditions and retirement security. The labor movement built the middle class and that is why in Congress I will proudly support the Pro Act, to strengthen a worker’s right to have a voice in the workplace. I look forward to partnering with the Illinois AFL-CIO to deliver results for working families when I am elected to Congress,” Budzinski said.
- GI Joe - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:06 am:
Mayor of Burr Ridge announced he is entering race to challenge Casten in the 6th as well.
- Anon - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:13 am:
It would be amazing if we got Mike Ziri in the General Assembly. I don’t know many people that work harder than him and he has a real depth of knowledge, both on the government side and the advocacy side, on how to get difficult legislation passed.
- vern - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:15 am:
Casten’s list is interesting for who it doesn’t include: anyone from the new part of his district. There are a lot of electeds who endorsed Lipinkski against Newman, and I can’t imagine Newman has won them over since taking office. Either they’re waiting for Casten to call them and he hasn’t yet, or they think someone else might enter the race. Either way, interesting.
- Fav Human - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:33 am:
or they think someone else might enter the race.
Three way primaries have led to many an interesting race and election result in IL before. No reason it can’t again.
- DuPage Saint - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:35 am:
I know I here seems to be a lack of enthusiasm for Alex on this blog and I also know of some of his past dealings but as an armchair observer he really seems to know how to lock up a campaign and endorsements
- Huh? - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:36 am:
Picture captions
“Look ma, no cavities.”
“I just got my braces off.”
- EarlyBird - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:36 am:
Ziri is a great choice for that district. He is well liked, hard working, and actually has the requisite experience to get the job done–a real proven record.
- Almost the Weekend - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:43 am:
=he really seems to know how to lock up a campaign and endorsements=
That was never the problem for him. Endorsements do not mean much unless it’s Trump nowadays.
- JLW - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:59 am:
=The only connection the SoS has to voting is the motor voter program.=
Is this correct? I know they don’t run anything to do with elections themselves, but doesn’t S.O.S. do the formal certifications of electors at the end of the process like in other states?
- LoyalVirus - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:43 pm:
I for one don’t need any more tired re-runs in statewide office races. Illinois cannot become the Virginia of 2022. We need fresh ideas from those with records of achievement.
- The Captain - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:46 pm:
“The only connection the SoS has to voting is the motor voter program.”
This is inaccurate. It’s also plays a significant role in automatic voter registration (AVR), and that rollout has had some issues.
- Roman - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:47 pm:
Is it just me, or is the media focusing an inordinate amount of attention on endorsements in the SoS race? You gotta give Alexi credit for taking advantage of it (or maybe even driving it.) But I can’t remember a time when the media cared so much about who’s for whom in a down ballot race.
- Shield - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:52 pm:
- vern - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:15 am:
If you can’t imagine Newman has won them over, you need to learn to read, because a bunch of mayors who endorsed Lipinski in 2018 and 2020 have since endorsed her for 2022.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 1:04 pm:
===This is inaccurate===
It’s close enough.
- Scooter - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 1:52 pm:
@ vern:
If the incumbent is doing a decent job, there’s not much reason for municipal mayors in the current 3rd district to jump ship and endorse Casten for the new 6th. They’ve spent the last year establishing relationships with Newman’s office and if Casten is voted in, they’ll need to start that process over again with the new Representative.
Same goes for mayoral endorsements in the current 6th; if they feel Casten is doing a good job, why endorse someone else? They already have established relationships with his office.
- vern - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 2:00 pm:
===You need to learn to read===
Whew, spicy, but ok, I did some reading. Newman’s website has endorsements listed from 4 mayors out of 28 Lipinksi listed last cycle. Now I’m sure some of them got moved out of the district and others got replaced in the ‘21 municipal cycle, but not exactly an overwhelming roll-up. Newman’s website also lists zero state legislators, township supervisors, or any non-mayor elected officials.
I’d also add that of those 4 mayors, only one leads a village with a population higher than 5,000. I think it’s fair to say that a lot of influential pols in that part of the district are still on the fence.
https://marienewmanforcongress.com/endorsements/
https://suburbanchicagoland.com/2020/01/07/lipinski-highlights-endorsements-from-districts-elected-officials/
- New Day - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 2:19 pm:
Wow, that statement from Jan is really dumb. This is not Georgia. The SOS, as Rich has pointed out so many times, has basically nothing to do with elections. I get rallying the base but cmon.
And again, Nikki is running a flawless campaign. Can’t wait for her to get elected.
- Proud Papa Bear - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 6:07 pm:
Wow, Mike Ziri. He would be an excellent representative. He’s one of the most hardworking, knowledgeable, and kindhearted people I know.
- west wing - Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:07 pm:
Wow - the AFL-CIO endorses even before finding out who’s running in the brand new 13th? Don’t they want to at least pretend to hear the views of candidates?
Ha - ha - sometimes Democrats are more top-down corporate than Republicans.
- bored now - Friday, Dec 10, 21 @ 7:31 am:
regardless of the tenuous illinois connection between the secretary of state and voting, illinois’ secretary of state will be a member of the national association of secretaries of states, the primary national “trade association” for elections administration. he or she will have a vote on their policy and regulation recommendations. more importantly, the office will be the primary conduit between that body, dhs and cisa in the area of cybersecurity (which has a significant place in the administration of elections now).
more importantly, for those running for the office, taking a position on elections administration is virtually required for fund-raising, especially for those who don’t know the exact position of the secretary of state’s role in administration of illinois elections…