By THE EDITORIAL BOARDCHICAGO TRIBUNE |SEP 29, 2020 AT 5:00 AM
This is the first installment of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for U.S. House races in the Nov. 3 general election. You’ll find the candidates’ answers to our surveys and our endorsements as they accrue at chicagotribune.com/candidates. You’ll find the editorial board’s statement of principles at chicagotribune.com/principles.
We start with a competitive race in the west and northwest suburbs between first-term Democratic congressman Sean Casten and Republican challenger Jeanne Ives, who came close to defeating Gov. Bruce Rauner in the 2018 gubernatorial primary. What we see in the Casten-Ives contest is what we long to see elsewhere in the Chicago area: A strong matchup. Competitive elections force candidates to be more accountable and transparent, and provide voters with the choices they deserve.
It only happens when the parties recruit and support competitive, viable candidates. For the GOP, we realize it is difficult to field Republicans in districts heavily drawn to favor Democrats. We know Democrats have a tight hold on Chicago and Cook County. But c’mon Republicans. There are a number of races with candidates who are simply unendorsable.
How about by the next election cycle, we see a batch of strong, electable GOP candidates filing to run in Chicago and Cook County?
6th Congressional District
Chicago? It’s “de facto bankrupt,” says Republican congressional candidate Jeanne Ives of Wheaton. The future of Illinois’ massive pension debt? “I’m happy to let free-market economics play out and bondholders beware. What we did with Puerto Rico is we basically set up a superstructure and a way for them to come to terms and figure out a haircut,” she says. Her bottom line: “People in Illinois can’t afford the taxes.” Ives is a fiscal and social conservative, and a policy wonk, who effectively speaks the hard truths about government spending. As a member of the Illinois House, she fought unbalanced budgets and unaccountable spending, and wasn’t afraid to take on corruption or one-party rule.
Ives is seeking to oust freshman Democratic Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove, who took the seat in 2018 from Republican Peter Roskam. Casten says 6th District voters are pragmatic — pro-science and pro-markets — and in step with him. Casten’s top priority is solving global warming, though he doesn’t support the progressive Green New Deal. He wants to expand Obamacare but does not support a single, government provider of health care. Also running is Libertarian Bill Redpath of West Dundee.
In this race, we side with Ives because of her sharp focus on government spending and her frank talk. You might not like to hear from the disciplinarian in the room. But Washington could use more hard truth-tellers. Ives is endorsed.
1st Congressional District
Rep. Bobby Rush, in Congress since 1993, still gets attention, but it has been a long time since he effectively represented this South Side-based district. So many vital issues require new ideas: Combating gang violence, rebuilding trust with the Chicago Police Department, recruiting investment and jobs. Yet with Rush we’re more likely to hear hot-take rhetoric. Remember during last year’s Chicago’s mayoral campaign he said voters who supported Lori Lightfoot would have blood on their hands if a young Black person was killed by police? It was an outrageous accusation to discredit Lightfoot’s work on police reform designed to prop up the limping campaign of Toni Preckwinkle. Voters saw through it. It’s time for the Democratic Party to make way for a new-generation leader in this district. Rush’s Republican challenger is Philanise White of Chicago, who used tweets to promote the QAnon conspiracy theory. No endorsement.
2nd Congressional District
As the coronavirus spread, communities of color were hit hard. The right response required a deeper understanding of the outbreak. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson and other lawmakers worked on a bill to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to collect information on the race and ethnicity of COVID-19 patients.
Smart move. Kelly is best-known for her work on gun-control legislation, but science is a key interest. Recently she and Republican Rep. Will Hurd of Texas introduced a House resolution to create a national artificial intelligence strategy to keep the U.S. ahead of competing nations, including China. Kelly’s Republican opponent, Theresa J. Raborn of Midlothian, is a first-time candidate who, alas, promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory. When we asked if she was a believer, we got equivocations. For this south suburban district, Kelly is endorsed.
3rd Congressional District
Chicago’s Southwest Side has been the conservative Democratic stronghold of the Lipinski family for many years. But times change and Democratic voters in this district, which extends into the west and southwest suburbs, leaned liberal in the March primary. Rep. Dan Lipinski, who succeeded his father Bill Lipinski in 2005, lost to Democrat Marie Newman of La Grange in a rematch.
She faces Republican Mike Fricilone of Homer Glen. Newman, heavily favored, is a progressive who supports the left’s big-scale agenda, including a switch to government-run health insurance and the so-called Green New Deal environmental agenda. Those are not ideas we support. Fricilone, who has served on the Will County Board for seven years, is a fiscal and social conservative. He says he’ll continue Lipinski’s common-sense approach by joining the bipartisan ProblemSolversCaucus, a group of moderate House members. Fricilone is endorsed.
4th Congressional District
Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, completing his first term representing this city-based district, is passionate about social justice issues and wants to see immigration reform.
He also is a former Cook County Board commissioner who ran for mayor of Chicago, so he’s strong on nuts-and-bolts policy issues, which is why he joined the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Investing in Chicago-area transit and internet broadband service helps the economy. An infrastructure bill, stymied by gridlock of the political kind, is needed. “Infrastructure across the country is crumbling,” Garcia tells us. “It’s not a question of if we will do it but when and how.” The Republican in this race is Jesus Solorio of Chicago. Garcia is endorsed.
5th Congressional District
Congressman Mike Quigley, D-Chicago, seeking his sixth full term, makes a strong case for reelection based on the billions in federal dollars he has secured for the CTA, Metra and other Chicagoland transportation needs.
Effective members of Congress take care of their districts and Quigley does. He also plays a critical role in national security as a member of both the intelligence and appropriations committees. With the U.S. facing Russian attempts to influence elections, Quiqley helped obtain $400 million in election security grants. There’s something else we’ve liked about Quigley since his days as a reformer on the Cook County Board: He’s got a logical streak and a taste for bipartisanship. Yes, Quigley is a tried-and-true Chicago Democrat, but he knows effective governance requires compromise, even when bipartisanship is out of fashion. He’s not blowing smoke when he says, “It is important to look past party affiliation and ultimately do what we believe is in the best interest of our constituents and the country.” Mike Quigley is endorsed over Republican challenger Tommy Hanson and Green Party candidate Thomas J. Wilda, both of Chicago.
Editorials reflect the opinion of the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board.
