A six-pack of picks for Congress
Today and tomorrow, the Sun-Times Editorial Board offers endorsements in 12 Chicago area U.S. House races. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to offer endorsements in national, state and local races. To read all our candidate endorsements as they become available, as well as candidate questionnaires, go to elections.suntimes.com.
1st District
Bobby Rush was once a member of the Black Panthers, an organization that scared the dickens out of much of white America. Over time, Rush mainstreamed his approach
to political change, first as a Chicago alderman and then — for the last 27 years — as a member of Congress, but his passion for social justice remains.
Now, in this moment of Black
Lives Matter, Rush appears to have found new energy. He is pushing legislation to protect the immigrant parents of DACA children, to remove and replace Confederate monuments, and to create a commission to study systemic racism in the federal government.
We endorse Rush, who lives in Chicago, over his Republican challenger, Philanise White, who has been active locally in GOP campaigns.
2nd District
In February of last year, Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson served as speaker pro tempore, wielding the gavel, when the U.S. House voted to approve a bipartisan bill to require background checks for every gun sale in the nation, including at gun shows and garage sales.
The bill was a model of centrist moderation, premised on the belief that people who have a documented history of violence or mental instability should not be allowed to own a gun. Or, at the very least, we should know about it.
It was fitting that Kelly presided over the House that day. She has been a consistent advocate for
more sensible gun laws. It also was a foregone conclusion the bill would go nowhere in the Republican-controlled Senate. Maybe next time.
We endorse Kelly for reelection with that in mind, that she might continue her work for saner gun laws and — another one of her priorities — greater equity in health care. Kelly is opposed by Republican Theresa Raborn, a homeschooling mother from Midlothian who chose not to participate in our endorsement process.
3rd District
Marie Newman won the Democratic primary in this Southwest Side and suburban district in March because voters decided it was time they were represented by a true Democrat, not by a
Democrat in name only, Dan
Lipinski.
We endorse
Newman, a businesswoman from La Grange, in the Nov. 3 general election because we believe she does, in fact, best represent the values of her district. She leans pretty strongly left, such as in her support for Medicare for all, but she’s pragmatic. She knows it won’t happen tomorrow.
Newman is committed to protecting the Dreamers — people who were brought to this country illegally as children — and wants to offer them a path to citizenship. And she’s a strong proponent of LGBTQ rights.
We also endorse Newman because the alternative, Republican Mike Fricilone of Homer Glen, is too much of an apologist for President Donald Trump. Enough of that. Half the problem in Washington is the utterly horrendous Trump. The other half is Republicans who refuse to call him out.
4th District
The earmuff-shaped 4th Congressional District was gerrymandered 30 years ago to create a majority-Hispanic district in the Chicago area, as ordered by a federal court. It is appropriate, then, that the district’s representative should devote a good deal of attention to the expressed concerns of Latinos.
That certainly was the approach of the previous representative, Luis Gutierrez, and it’s true for incumbent Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who was elected as a Democrat in 2018. Garcia’s first priority has been to push for the enactment of immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients.
More so than Gutierrez, however, Garcia has long pursued a broad progressive agenda, such as when he sponsored legislation to require the appointment of more rank-and-file workers to corporate boards. We endorse Garcia over his Republican challenger, businessman Jesus Solorio.
5th District
Asa member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for the last five years, Mike Quigley has demonstrated the importance of doing your homework. It was his informed and precise cross examination of Roger Stone that led, in time, to Trump’s pal being convicted of witness tampering and lying to federal investigators.
Quigley brings a no-fuss directness to his service in Washington. His instinct is to seek common ground and solve problems.
We endorse Quigley, who lives on Chicago’s North Side, over his Republican opponent, Tommy Hanson, who works in commercial real estate, and his Green Party opponent, Thomas J. Wilda, a social worker.