Bill Clinton rally to give Hillary boost in Evanston
WASHINGTON— A week before the Illinois primary, Bill Clinton will stump for Hillary on Tuesday morning in the progressive stronghold of Evanston, which could be a source of support for Bernie Sanders.
Sanders, looking to shore up support among black voters, rallied backers on Feb. 25 at Chicago State University on the South Side.
Clinton has done extraordinarily well with African-American voters— especially in South Carolina. In Illinois, she has done events in Bronzeville on the South Side and has run ads that target black voters.
Bill Clinton heads to Evanston as Hillary Clinton has been wooing the far left of the Democratic Party, which has been boosting Sanders’ candidacy.
The 10: 30 a. m. get- outthevote rally headlined by Bill Clinton will be in the Social Hall at Beth Emet The Free Synagogue, 1224 Dempster St. in Evanston.
One of the nation’s leading progressives, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D- Ill., an Evanston resident, is a major Clinton supporter, helping organize phone banks and volunteers for the campaign.
“I feel good about our progressive town being for Hillary, and the communities around us,” Schakowsky told me. “We just want to make sure we get out the biggest vote possible.”
That Clinton was born on the North Side and raised in Park Ridge also helps in Evanston, Schakowsky said.
Dan Johnson, running as a Sanders delegate in the 9th Congressional District, which includes Evanston, said the 9th is “one of the state’s most progressive districts.”
Evanston also is the home of Northwestern University, and Sanders has done well in college towns.
“I take it as an affirmation of anecdotal evidence that people in the 9th are Bernie people. Sending in the former president means they have some catching up to do,” Johnson said.
Sanders was in the Metro East area of Illinois around St. Louis on March 5.
Presidential political money trail in Illinois
In a move to defeat Donald Trump, Club for Growth Action announced Monday it will spend about $ 2 million in Illinois for ads on cable and broadcast television, plus some digital plays.
“As voters come to know Trump’s record, they will turn to true pro- growth conservatives,” the club said in a statement.
The American Future Fund, another conservative group, reported to the Federal Election Commission on Saturday spending $ 450,000 in Illinois to defeat Trump.
Cubs board member Todd Ricketts’ Our Principles PAC, one of the first to start spending money to keep Trump from getting the GOP nomination, reported to the FEC on Saturday putting $ 415,205 in Illinois for media buys.
Priorities USA Action, the super PAC backing Clinton, reported $ 127,120 in Illinois spending for direct mail pieces.
Women Vote, another pro- Clinton group, spent about $ 73,000 for digital advertising and media in Illinois.
The SEIU PAC paid $ 2,397 for Clinton T- shirts.