47 Comments » - Remember the Alamo II - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 12:31 pm: I think it is generally a nothingburger, but as stated above, it can be telling when a candidate will not openly support another candidate from their party. It may be a reflection of poor leadership skills. - ok - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 12:35 pm: Bizarre effort to appease both sides. Why not just endorse the third-party candidate at that point? - Stephanie Kollmann - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 12:37 pm: Who you’re willing to vote for is a sign of what you’re willing to overlook and this is important information for voters to have about candidates, no matter the type of office they run for. - Think Again - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 12:39 pm: = Sangamon County Recorder Frank Lesko…there’s one thing he’ll never tell: who will receive his vote for governor= I’m with Frank; who you vote for is between you and your maker - no need to divulge it. Folks in my family have sacrificed and died to preserve that right. - @misterjayem - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 12:39 pm: It’s a very curious choice for someone who wants me to trust their judgement. – MrJM - Louis G Atsaves - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 12:47 pm: Does a county recorder really have to disclose who he will be voting for Governor of Illinois? If this were a statewide candidate, I would raise an eyebrow or two, but a county candidate? - Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 12:48 pm: “And that vote is one privacy that you have when you go into the voting booth.” Totally true. That is a fact. And when you see a Republican candidate tell the truth, it is pure desperation. - Stephanie Kollmann - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 12:51 pm: I think it’s important regardless but he’s running for state senate. - Stephanie Kollmann - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 12:55 pm: == who you vote for is between you and your maker - no need to divulge it. Folks in my family have sacrificed and died to preserve that right== what silliness - oh my - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 12:58 pm: Very weak. A lot of voters don’t like Darren Bailey it’s true, but voters are even less enthused about a politician like Frank Lesko who won’t even take a stand on the candidate heading the party ticket he’s running on. I mean sheesh. - 47th Ward - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:06 pm: Regardless of whether a candidate announces it or not, in 99% of cases, we know which way they will vote in the privacy of the polling booth. In a few cases, a candidate will cross over and vote for the other party in a race or two. But they almost always announce that. If the candidate won’t say, assume the vote is for his party’s candidate. If he/she makes a big deal about not answering the question, assume his party’s candidate is a real loser. - Steve Rogers - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:09 pm: Meh, who cares. This isn’t going to sway any voters whether Lesko says he’s voting for Bailey or for Pritzker. I think it says more about Bailey’s chances than Lesko’s. Lesko’s candidacy speaks for itself–it seems he never met an office he didn’t run for. - Banish Misfortune - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:11 pm: If you can’t even tell me who you think would be best at running the state, don’t ask me to trust your judgement on anything. - Demoralized - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:12 pm: @Louis: He’s running for the State Sentate. - Dotnonymous x - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:12 pm: - who you vote for is between you and your maker - no need to divulge it. Folks in my family have sacrificed and died to preserve that right. - Could you be more dramatic? - Dotnonymous x - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:13 pm: Q. What do you think of candidates who won’t say who they’re voting for? A. Not much - Excitable Boy - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:13 pm: - a county candidate? - He’s running for the Illinois Senate, and he’s a coward for not taking a stand one way or another. - Walker - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:15 pm: You could certainly comment on what you support or oppose about a candidate’s positions, and still keep your intended vote to yourself. - btowntruth from forgottonia - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:17 pm: Stephanie gave the correct answer. For candidates it’s a really good clear signal of the types of policies they would vote for. - Horseshoe Voter - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:18 pm: It’s at least hypocritical. His office is probably full of interns calling IDing voters asking them to disclose who they’re voting for for state senate. - Dotnonymous x - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:18 pm: Personally speaking, I’m generally proud of who I vote for or I wouldn’t vote for them. - Stephanie Kollmann - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:22 pm: ==I think it’s important regardless but he’s running for state senate.== And while political views matter in local government, another important reason people running for office should be pressed as “just” a county recorder or dogcatcher is that county recorders and dogcatchers often run for higher office and their…ex post memory…may diverge from contemporarily recorded positions - Streator Curmudgeon - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:24 pm: Another night of tossing and turning, worrying who Frank Lesko will be voting for. /s Oh, and Frank? You forgot to add a “Harrumph” in your answer. - hmmm - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:24 pm: It’s right but it’s moreso about not alienating voters - Three Dimensional Checkers - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:33 pm: I would say yes, but most politicians are such skilled liars that the statement is not worth much. It is more informative when they refuse to answer, actually. - Original Rambler - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:40 pm: I agree with Think Again about the sanctity of the voting booth. (Not sure why two commenters took a potshot at them.) I don’t think it is quite a nothingburger. I became turned off on a local candidate who endorsed a Q-anon type for state senate. So a candidate exercising their right to not say who they are voting for doesn’t sway me one way or another. The flip side - publicly stating who you are going to support - could impact my view of their candidacy. - FIREDup! - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:40 pm: Frank, I hired you so I could fire you. Can you just stay fired? Please?? - SouthSide Markie - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 1:50 pm: - who you vote for is between you and your maker - What if I’m an atheist? - Dotnonymous x - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 2:01 pm: - Not sure why two commenters took a potshot at them. - I wish I could understand it for you. - Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 2:03 pm: === Folks in my family have sacrificed and died to preserve that right. === And while they were fighting, they voted by mail. Yet, I don’t see you jumping up to defend that right, which has existed since the Civil War. (And that war predated secret ballots) - West Side the Best Side - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 2:03 pm: In general, if a candidate won in a contested primary and was backed by the party (whichever), you would think they’d be willing to say they’re voting for the candidates of the party that backed them. Perhaps if there is a nonparty backed candidate who won I can see why they might not want to announce their support for that person. - Big Dipper - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 2:13 pm: I bet zero members of the military think about the sanctity of the voting booth either when they are enlisting or when they are in combat. I also think we can hold candidates to a higher standard such as expecting them to release their tax returns which is also private for most people. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 2:16 pm: I will say that Lesko is a hypocrite and a coward. I guarantee - guarantee - that Senate Republicans are calling voters in the 48th district and asking them whether they are voting for Turner or Lesko. I will bet $100 to Lesko’s favorite charity that he is personally asking voters “Can I count on your vote?” or some iteration thereof. I am guessing Lesko is voting for Pritzker and cannot stand Bailey, he’s just too cowardly to admit it because he knows he’ll lose right wing support for it. Lying and saying he supports Bailey is risky, probably someone out there knows. If he supported Bailey, there’s 50 ways to say so, like “He’s the GOP nominee and has my support” that shield him from any judgment from voters. It’s the unions that Lesko does not want to anger, I imagine. YDD - Grandson of Man - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 2:18 pm: These are public officeholders and candidates, not private citizens. They should answer questions about their voting choices. It gives voters more information on their values and judgment. Bailey at least has the courage to accept Trump’s endorsement. It sends patriots a message: he supports my president and he supports me. - Remember the Alamo II - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 2:26 pm: In my opinion, the question is a trap in of itself. If he says he is voting for Bailey, he will potentially lose folks that are against Bailey - which is what the people asking the question want. If he says he is voting for Pritzker, he will potentially lose support from those that support Bailey without getting any reciprocal support from those that are supporting Pritzker. Its a lose/lose situation for him. Strategically, I think he made the right decision, albeit his response was a little bit on the weird side. But I think at the end of the day, I don’t think that there are many undecided voters that really care about who Frank Lesko is voting for in the Governor’s race. - Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 2:29 pm: ===he is personally asking voters “Can I count on your vote?” or some iteration thereof.=== Yep. - Think Again - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 2:32 pm: =And while they were fighting, they voted by mail. Yet, I don’t see you jumping up to defend that right= I happen to be a big proponent of early in-person voting, as it is convenient, and I like the certainty of handing my ballot to a trained election judge. I have never advocated against VBM. - Stephanie Kollmann - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 2:46 pm: Presumably some people’s ancestors fought and died for the rest of the Constitution too and yet we are allowed to think less of political candidates who use slurs That’s why it’s silly. Having opinions about people who seek the public trust is not the same as forcing them at gunpoint to disclose their voting preferences through the power of the state. And those opinions can include disliking people who are squirrely about their voting patterns and candidates they support. Which is an actual nonimaginary definition of freedom. HTH - Mike Sorensen - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 3:22 pm: I don’t know if it was brought up or if he just volunteered that he didn’t want to say. But assuming it’s the latter, maybe the better question of the day is whether or not journalists should ask questions like this in the first place. The only thing that’s going to come from it is either exactly the answer you expect, or a story being made out of nothing when there’s no answer. But it’s a question that I won’t even ask my adult child, why should reporters be asking anyone? (BTW, I know it’s semantics to some, but asking “do you support their campaign proposals” is a different question that “who did you vote for?”) - short stuff are beans tall stuff is corn - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 3:47 pm: Wow….someone mentions the sacrifices their family made to protect our freedoms. You guys throw shade at them. SMH - Dotnonymous x - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 3:57 pm: - Wow….someone mentions the sacrifices their family made to protect our freedoms. You guys throw shade at them. SMH - Stop shaking your head…it’s making you dizzy and affecting your reading comprehension. - Big Dipper - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 3:59 pm: Most people have military in their family but they don’t all use them for cheap rhetorical points. - Dotnonymous x - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 4:11 pm: Those who seek to represent the public must be held to a higher level of scrutiny and a higher level of transparency. - Pot calling kettle - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 4:19 pm: ===who you vote for is between you and your maker=== Why bring someone’s mother into this? I don’t have to tell her either. To the question: I don’t care who the candidate is going to vote for. I am interested in who they do and don’t endorse. It’s an important difference - an endorsement is what candidates seek from organizations and individuals so they can publicize it as they see fit. It’s also a better question that cannot be dodged with “it’s a secret.” In this case, Lesko should have said “I’m not endorsing anyone in that race” and left it at that. - Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 5:24 pm: === You guys throw shade === Not everyone did. But also when you use someone else’s military service to justify a political point - whatever that point may be - you can expect some shade. And rightfully so. Just speak for yourself here. Don’t hide behind ancestors. And don’t make up weak excuses for those who do. - Give us Barabbas - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 7:26 pm: In the general a person can totally get away with lying about who they voted for, the usual answer given might go something like “ of course I support my party”. It’s in the primaries where we still have to declare a party affiliation that’s problematic. When I first came to Springfield I was astonished by how few people O talked to voted in the primaries, just to not have a paper trail of party affiliation, and it angered me that if I chose to take a ballot in a primary I was making a career decision. Back then every state building had some petty apparatchik who literally logged your license plate and who’s bumper stickers you displayed, to keep in some file somewhere. My boss warned me not to vote in primaries if I wanted to get raises and promotions regularly. It made me mad enough to spit, it was so in-American a thing. - Candy Dogood - Monday, Sep 28, 26 @ 9:18 pm: A candidate for a political party should be able to tell everyone who they are supporting in other races. If they aren’t voting straight ticket for their own party, they owe the public an explanation. If someone is uncomfortable with this expectation, imagine how badly they’ll do communicating about their other votes. 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