By William S. Bike
Several candidates are running unopposed in local races in the March 17 primary, and therefore are guaranteed to be on the ballot again for the November 3 general election.
Congress, 4th District (D)
Democrat Jesus G. “Chuy” Garcia is a freshman Congressman, having been elected in 2019 after serving on the Cook County Board, State Senate, and City Council.
He serves on the House Financial Services Committee and its Subcommittees on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy as well as the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and its Subcommittees on Aviation, Highways, and Transit and on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. Garcia also serves on the Equality, Hispanic, Progressive, New Americans, and Pro-Choice Caucuses.
Garcia voted against the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement and in favor of impeaching President Trump, saying “Donald Trump indisputably violated the Constitution and is, without a shadow of a doubt, no longer fit to discharge the duties of the President.”
Voting to fund the government through this year, Garcia said the funding package gives “thousands of working families in my district better access to affordable and quality education and health care, affordable housing, and investments in clean air, clean water, and dependable infrastructure.”
See http://jesuschuygarcia.com/ for more information.
Congress, 4th District (R)
The Republican Party slated Christopher Lasky of Berwyn, IL as the candidate, but he died late in 2019. According to Joe Hackler, spokesperson for the Illinois Republican Party, “We are looking for a new candidate to be named later and caucused onto the ballot.”
Congress, 7th District (R)
Craig Cameron has been a construction project manager for T-Mobile since 2012. Republican Cameron wants to bring more jobs to Chicago to promote safer communities. He said he “will put the people of my district first as I lawfully interpret policy.”
Cameron supports adherence to the 2nd Amendment but believes in banning fully automatic rifles and tools that can make a weapon fully automatic, such as bump stocks and large capacity ammunition magazines. “Chicago needs stronger gun laws now,” he said.
He supports lawful immigration but believes Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) reform and protecting U.S. borders are necessary. He believes Dreamers should have the right to attain citizenship.
Concerning the Affordable Care Act, Cameron believes it is not affordable and “we need to overhaul this plan.” He does favor the ideal of everyone attaining access to healthcare.
Cameron also favors air and water pollution control and will advocate for environmental policy change. He also believes the U.S. tax structure has gotten out of hand. He would like to see “taxes used as an incentive to hire workers and to encourage businesses to invest,” Cameron said. “This helps grow our economy.”
See https://twitter.com/craigcameron07?lang=en for more information.
State House, 4th District (D)
Delia C. Ramirez,a Democrat, has represented the 4th State House District since December 2018.
Her committee assignments include Appropriations-Human Services: Adoption and Child Welfare (Vice-Chair); Elementary and Secondary Education; Judiciary-Criminal; Mental Health; Juvenile Justice; and Sex Offenses and Sex Offender Registration.
A lifelong resident of the district, she has worked as a social service director and describes herself as “a fierce advocate of our neighborhood families. Our working families are being nickeled and dimed out of their paychecks, while the most wealthy keep consolidating their riches. Senior citizens are spending their golden years deciding between paying their rent or refilling their prescriptions. And many of our students find themselves facing school closures or attacks on State funding for college tuition once they graduate.”
She said she believes in “disrupting politics as usual” and “challenging the status quo to ensure our families have safe neighborhoods with fully funded schools and social services, a strong economy with good wages, and healthcare for all.”
See http://www.ilga.gov/house/Rep.asp?MemberID=2747 for more information.
State House, 5th District (D)
Lamont Robinson is a freshman Democratic legislator.
His committee assignments include Appropriations-Public Safety, Financial Institutions, Personnel and Pensions, Prescription Drug Affordability (Vice-Chair), Local Retirement Systems, and Transportation: Regulation and Roads.
Robinson had worked as an insurance agent and small business owner, executive director of the Kappa Leadership Institute, and adjunct professor at Harold Washington College.
He also serves on the Illinois Property Tax Relief Task Force. “Families in our community cannot prosper if they are constantly held back by increasing property taxes. We must continue working toward a stronger Illinois, and that includes fairer taxes and direct property tax relief for hard-working homeowners. Fighting for property tax relief is a key priority of mine.”
Climate change also figures strongly on Robinson’s issues list. “Combatting the effects of fossil fuels should be one of our top priorities, and having a conversation about sustainable alternatives is a necessary step in that process,” he said.
See https://ilhousedems.com/project/rep-lamont-robinson/ for more information.
State House, 6th District (D)
Democrat Sonya M. Harper has served in the Illinois General Assembly since October 2015.
She chairs the House Economic Opportunity and Equity and the Agriculture and Conservation Committees as well as the Environmental Justice and Public Benefits Subcommittees. Harper also serves on the Appropriations-Public Safety, Elementary/Secondary Education School Curriculum Policies, Energy and Environment, Human Services Committees.
Harper formerly was executive director of Grow Greater Englewood and founded the Wood Street Meet and Greet Community Garden. She also cofounded the Englewood Votes community organization.
Her License to Work Act ended the practice of driver’s license suspension for parking ticket debt, so people could get to work. “Building a stronger Illinois means creating opportunities for people to access good jobs and living wages, not taking those opportunities away,” Harper said.
Other issues important to her are raising Alzheimer’s awareness, ending domestic violence, creating affordable child care, and removing penalties for delinquent taxes so people can pay them more easily.
See http://www.repsonyaharper.com/.