A second set of six for Congress
Today, the Sun-Times Editorial Board offers its final six 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.
7th District
Two years ago, we endorsed Rep. Danny K. Davis for reelection with reluctance. We wrote that he was not the force he had been in 1997 when he first entered
Congress. We wrote that the voters deserved better.
But he has fought the good fight over the years, we also wrote, for such laudable goals as universal health care, a “living wage” and services for exoffenders. And besides, we said, his Republican opponent, Craig Cameron, a construction project manager, was an insufficiently qualified political beginner. Well, so it goes again this year. Nothing has changed, including the name of Davis’ Republican challenger — Craig Cameron. Our endorsement goes to Davis, but we wish the voters of the 7th District had a better choice. Tracy Jennings, an Independent, also is running.
8th District
Though first elected to Congress just four years ago, Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg has been among the more industrious members of the House, and he’s a cut above many other members of the Illinois delegation. Should the chips fall right, he could make an excellent senator some day.
In the meantime, Krishnamoorthi has most recently been the scourge of the vaping industry. He is primarily responsible for the passage of federal regulations that likely have played a part in a decreased use of e-cigarettes and related vaping products by young people. Elsewhere, he has
worked in a bipartisan way to improve skills-based training for young people who are not college-bound, and on making college more affordable for those who are.
Krishnamoorthi is opposed by Libertarian candidate Preston Gabriel Nelson, who lists his occupation as inventor. Two years ago, Nelson unsuccessfully ran for Congress in the 12th District, 300 miles south of Chicago. According to the Illinois Board of Elections, he still lives 300 miles south of Chicago.
Our endorsement goes to Krishnamoorthi.
9th District
Incumbent Jan Schakowsky, of Evanston, has always run a responsive constituent services office, but in these days of Donald Trump, she says, she’s been getting calls from people “weeping on the phone.” They worry about their immigration status. They worry about health care expenses.
Schakowsky has been a forceful critic of the worst policies of the Trump administration, as well as a leader in Congress on health care reform and in addressing violence against women. In the coming legislative session, she tells us, her top agenda will include pushing for the ability of the Medicare program to negotiate drug prices and a public health insurance option. Schakowsky is endorsed over Republican Sargis Sangari, CEO of the Near East Center for Strategic Engagement.
10th District
One of the more heartbreaking examples of what can happen when government makes bad decisions was the economic damage visited upon north suburban Zion when a nuclear power plant was decommissioned two decades ago — without a federal plan for removing the spent nuclear fuel. Zion was left holding the bag.
Since 2017, Rep. Brad Schneider and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, DIllinois, have pushed a bipartisan bill to create economic impact grants — up to $15 for every kilogram of spent nuclear fuel — for Zion and other towns in the same straits.
As a member of Congress, Schneider has been sensitive to the particular needs of his district, even as he’s been a predictable Democratic vote on national issues. We endorse Schneider with the hope that he’ll continue to zero in on his district’s local needs. Getting that STRANDED Act regarding nuclear waste passed would be an excellent start.
Schneider, who lives in Deerfield, is opposed by Republican Valerie Ramirez Mukherjee, a businesswoman who moved to the northern suburbs from California a few years ago.
11th District
At a time when the discipline of science is being trashed by those who would rather ignore crises such as climate change and COVID-19, it’s nice to have an actual scientist — a nuclear physicist, no less — in Congress.
In January, Rep. Bill Foster rose to a particularly strategic position from which to serve the cause of scientific integrity, being named chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. The subcommittee is empowered to investigate and oversee all matters — such as environmental and energy issues — concerning non-defense federal research.
This comes at a time when the Trump administration has attempted to gut federal scientific research, most notably with respect to the environment and guns.
We endorse Foster, who has served in Congress since 2008. He is opposed by Republican Rick Laib, a sergeant with the Will County Sheriff ’s Police and strong supporter of President Trump.