We can’t afford another four years of confrontation and stalemate. […]
Progress must come from somewhere, and we know that because of Illinois’ political realities, it will not be through Rauner’s re-election.
Hope for change rests only with Democrat J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire heir of the Hyatt hotel family fortune.
We’re not without reservations about Pritzker. We’re concerned about the lack of specificity in his graduated income tax vision. We’re offended by toiletgate. And we’re troubled by his ability to buy not just the governorship but also most of the legislature.
But Pritzker and Pritzker alone, among the four candidates on the ballot, can drive the change within the Democratic Party itself that must take place to solve Illinois’ enormous problems.
He has the wealth to maintain his independence, the personal skills to build collaboration, the breadth of ideas necessary to address the issues and the ambition to make a difference.
We endorse Pritzker because status quo is not an option.
It’s not saying much, but House Republicans have seen more bright spots in the past week of polling since the Kavanaugh confirmation fight than they saw in over a month. Both sides agree Democrats’ enthusiasm advantage has narrowed, and Republicans are benefiting from their base “waking up” in red districts. However, there’s little evidence of movement in blue and swing districts.
Republicans suddenly feel more confident about several incumbents who have previously been tied or behind but have the luxury of sitting in Trump-won districts: Reps. Mike Bost (IL-12), John Faso (NY-19), Claudia Tenney (NY-22) and Steve Chabot (OH-01). They’re also newly optimistic about Toss Up open seats in Trump country, like Kansas’s 2nd CD and North Carolina’s 9th CD.
However, it shouldn’t come as a shock that the highly charged Supreme Court fracas has barely moved the needle in high-income, Clinton-won suburbs. Republicans are especially concerned about Reps. Mimi Walters (CA-45) and Peter Roskam (IL-06), who now appear to be narrowly behind. In fact, there’s evidence the map was beginning to polarize before the Kavanaugh fight.
Republicans continue to face especially strong headwinds in states where gubernatorial races aren’t going well for them. Illinois, where GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner trails by more than 15 points is a particular concern as Roskam and Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14) face an onslaught of Democratic cash in the Chicago media market. […]
Rating Changes
IL-06: Roskam - Toss Up to Lean D ←
IL-14: Hultgren - Lean R to Toss Up ←
Yikes. If a traditional Republican like Randy Hultgren could conceivably lose to a young African-American woman who was previously unknown in an 86 percent white and 3 percent black district encompassing most of McHenry County, parts of DeKalb County, northern Lake, western Kendall, etc. then we may be in for one really weird election night, campers.
* Meanwhile…
U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, running for re-election in the 14th Congressional District, has released his third ad of this campaign season.
As a senior member of the Science Committee and Chair of the STEM Caucus, Randy Hultgren is focused on training the next generation of leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
“I am working to make us a leader in STEM, by providing our kids with the building blocks for success and strengthening our economy with good and high paying jobs. That means encouraging innovation in our schools and businesses, and establishing scholarship initiatives so our kids are prepared to succeed.” Said Rep. Hultgren. “To keep us competitive in the future, we have to be working at it today.”
…Adding… One of my best guys tells me this ad is only on cable and he only put $50K behind it. Apparently, Hultgren has only spent $187k since 9/11. Meanwhile, Underwood is pushing 250 points a week on broadcast.
* Incumbent, challenger in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District stake out positions on health insurance: Underwood has said during numerous campaign events that her decision to run for office was motivated by a promise from Hultgren to support repealing the portion of the Affordable Care Act that protected health care coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, which she felt was broken when Hultgren voted for the American Health Care Act.
* Election 2018: A year for women in McHenry County?
* GOP-Held Illinois District Pounded with Outside Money as Election Nears: The independent spending arm of the environmentalist League of Conservation Voters political action group is dropping $291,000 to run negative advertisements against Roskam on digital platforms throughout the district. Naral Pro-Choice America, another national liberal organization, will shell out $148,000 over the coming weeks on digital advertising opposing the incumbent. The group is also mobilizing its supporters this weekend to canvass for Casten. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting Casten, is pouring another $109,000 into the district against Roskam. … The independent expenditure arm of the Koch brothers-backed group Americans for Prosperity is injecting $55,700 into the district to support Roskam with advertising and canvassing. And the House GOP’s campaign committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, is adding a cool $1.5 million to its budget for the district over the next several weeks, Roskam told the Tribune.
Voters this year can make a declaration: We want an aggressive attorney general who will expose, investigate and prosecute public corruption, no matter where it lies.
That’s a key reason the Tribune endorses Erika Harold of Urbana, an attorney with the Champaign-based firm of Meyer Capel, for attorney general. She is a Harvard Law School graduate — winning the 2003 Miss America pageant helped pay for her education — with experience in commercial litigation, criminal law, class action, fraud and contract disputes. On policy, she has been outspoken on the need for criminal justice reform and prison rehabilitation. […]
We are confident Raoul would be an aggressive attorney general for the citizens of Illinois — on some fronts, none of which would offend Illinois politicians. But he oddly downplays the role of the attorney general in pursuing public corruption — “I’m not going to go fishing for it,” he says — and he defends the thin anti-corruption record of the departing attorney general. […]
Voters: If you’re looking for a smart, well-rounded and self-reliant watchdog in state government, Harold is it. She also is a Republican in a state that, with Democrats controlling most levers of government, needs checks and balances on that one-party dominion. Erika Harold is the superior choice for attorney general.
It’s a new era for attorneys general in states across the nation as they step up to fight for the environment, workers’ rights, access to health care, consumer protections, and a free and open internet.
Illinois’ next attorney general will have to take the lead in these battles and others, countering the retrograde policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Kwame Raoul, the Democratic candidate for Illinois attorney general, gets our endorsement. We believe he is the best qualified — and most inclined — candidate to lead the charge, following in the footsteps of Lisa Madigan, who is retiring from the office. Raoul’s Republican opponent, Erika Harold, has signaled far less enthusiasm for taking on such important broader issues. […]
Madigan has sued to stop the separation of families at the U.S. border, to reinstate energy efficiency standards for home appliances such as fans and air conditioners, and to prevent young adults who were brought to our country illegally as young children from being deported.
Action by state attorneys general, including Madigan, also recently stopped the Trump administration from permitting designs for untraceable, homemade 3D-printed guns to be distributed online.
Raoul has demonstrated the ability to work effectively on a wide range of big issues.
