* News-Gazette…

City of Champaign Township Assessor Paul Faraci will fill the remaining two years of Scott Bennett’s term as the 52nd District’s state senator.

Local Democrats made the announcement this morning in Champaign, choosing Faraci from a field of 10 applicants.

Faraci, among the applicants on hand for today’s meeting, called the moment “bittersweet” and the honor “one I’ll take very seriously.”

Sen. Bennett’s widow, appointed Sen. Stacy Bennett, had this to say about Faraci the other day when she named four people whom she thought her late spouse would support as a good replacement…

Paul Faraci has been a fixture in the Champaign/Urbana community for 45 years. His experience includes owning a small business, working on economic development, serving on the Champaign City Council, and now as the Champaign Township Assessor. He has also worked in Vermilion County through his positions with the Department of Economic Opportunity and the State Treasurer’s office.

FYI, Treasurer Michael Frerichs was on the selection committee. Scott Bennett replaced Frerichs in the Senate.

* Rep. Carol Ammons was, of course, not on that list. And as we discussed the other day, Ammons and her spouse, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, churned the water…

In a statement issued Monday night, Carol Ammons said denying her the post would be an insult to “African-American women” who “are the base of the Democratic Party and are disrespected and disregarded by the Democratic Party on a regular basis.”

Meanwhile, Aaron Ammons, Champaign County’s clerk and recorder, issued a separate statement Tuesday that contends that the appointment issue is a matter of race. He said the community will “find out soon if we have real allies in our movements” or whether “we have to battle this new generation of whites for the same reasons our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents battled before us.”

That didn’t help. The replacement committee wasn’t exactly stacked in Ammons’ favor to begin with, and Stacy Bennett released this statement…

I am heartbroken by the amount of bullying, threats, and negativity I am seeing surrounding this process. This is not at all what Scott would have wanted and certainly not how he would have behaved.

* You can watch Sen. Faraci’s acceptance speech at about the 9:00 mark…

Selection committee meeting to appoint in vacancy of 52nd Senate district.

Posted by Champaign County Democrats on Saturday, January 7, 2023