By Rick Romano
Three of the five Cook County Board contests in this area are offering the voters competitive races for commissioner in the November 8 election.
1ST DISTRICT
Incumbent Democratic Commissioner Brandon Johnson has served since 2018. A former teacher and union organizer, he lives in the Austin neighborhood with his wife and three children.
To combat crime, Johnson in the short term favors working through the Justice Advisory Council to deploy $75 million in County funds available to the 1st District for mental health services, job training, and youth homelessness. His long-term approach incudes using equity funding for infrastructure, jobs, and housing.
“We need to put our resources where we see the greatest return on our investment,” Johnson said, “The result must be developing the safest, healthiest communities.”
On voter suppression’s threat to democracy, Johnson said voting is “a right that must be protected. Suppression is an ominous threat, so we need to be very clear about the sources that do not want to see the implementation of policies. January 6 was not just an incident. It was a result of a sustained effort to roll our country back to when Black and Brown populations, as well as women, could not participate. We need inclusiveness.”
Addressing women’s healthcare, including choice rights, Johnson said, “Healthcare is a human right. A woman’s autonomy is a right, a fundamental freedom. The fact that my wife and my mother-in-law have had a freedom that my daughter and my nieces may not under this” Supreme Court anti-choice decision “is disconcerting.”
Johnson also said healthcare should not be tied to employment, noting support for the Affordable Care Act—Johnson said tens of thousands more families have access to healthcare as a result—and Medicare for All.
Johnson also noted, “I want to re-emphasize my fight for public housing and affordability. Where there were homes valued at $200,000” in the district, “now they are $500,000. Wages are not keeping up, and unemployment is high.”
Rethinking juvenile detention also is on his mind.
“Detaining children in cells for 20 plus hours a day is not humane,” he said. “We have to reimagine the detention model that has not reduced violence. We have to take a closer look at how County government works. We have to make critical investments.”
For more on Johnson, see https://brandonforcookcounty.com/about-brandon.
Libertarian Challenger James M. Humay is a first-time candidate who has worked as a treasurer and local committeeman for his party. He has lived in Aurora, Wheaton, Cicero, and Chicago’s Logan Square. Ukrainian Village has been his home for the past 13 years. He has one son from a previous marriage and currently is engaged.
“A lot of constituents are concerned about crime,” Humay said. “We have to address root issues and causes, especially in areas where government policies have created an environment of pain and suffering that creates crime. Libertarians value individual responsibility but what has increased is alcohol and drug use as well as organized crime in drugs. Ending the war on drugs would be the number one way to address violence related to that.
“We should really protect victims’ rights,” he said. “Victims should be allowed to be heard to participate. I believe in restitution, be it for property crimes or for pain and suffering. Maximum sentencing and stricter punishment can create more problems and increase crime.”
He also said less attention should be paid to what he calls victimless crimes such as drug and firearm possession, as well as sex workers.
Humay said he favors filling vacant sheriff’s officer positions but noted the County should strengthen its review of police activities, get rid of immunity laws, and incorporate social workers and counselors in the process of dealing with those who commit crime and those who are victimized.
Voting suppression as a threat to democracyshould be countered by accessibility, early opportunities, and extended hours, Humay said, adding, “We also need to make sure elections are secure.” He noted he favors block chain voting, which uses specialized software that can allow voters to cast ballots by computer or phone. “We should explore all the technology that is available to us.”
Concerning women’s healthcare and the right to choose, Humay said, “We need to keep government out of our business for everyone. Abortion is an individual decision made between patient and her physician.”
He also favors privatizing healthcare.
Humay believes “We should eliminate our current property tax system, which is based on assessed property, and institute a land value tax,” he said. “This would encourage building affordable housing as well as improvement of current structures.”
Transportation needs to rely more on user fees, he believes.
For more on Humay, see www.facebook.com/groups/317
2065353077488/.
2ND DISTRICT
Democratic incumbent Dennis Deer has served as 2nd District County commissioner since 2017. A behavioral health specialist, the lifelong Lawndale resident is married with three children.
To address crime, Deer calls on his mental health professional background
“I am a proponent of the criminal justice system,” Deer said. “Also, we are pushing equity and social programs that address homelessness, health care, and food insecurity. Gun violence is a public health crisis, so we need to prevent individuals from falling into criminal behavior.”
Deer said no “silver bullet” exists to combat crime, adding, “this multi-faceted issue requires a multi-tiered solution.” He favors prevention through social programs, health services, and effective policing.
“I believe in police officers,” he said. “I am not a proponent of defund the police. Police also need training to address critical situations so they don’t add to a difficult situation. The majority of our board supports all of this. Now it’s time to make that happen.”
On voting suppression as a threat to democracy, Deer said it is important to believe in the process.
“I believe in democracy, and I won’t undermine that,” he said. “We need to support our voting mechanisms. The County and the country are looking to us as leaders, and we have more work to do.”
Education is part of that work, he said.
“We should educate voters in all the ways that they can participate, but we also need to let them know why it is important for everyone who is eligible to vote to do so.”
To improve the system, Deer said investigation is important.
“When I was young, my mother always said, ‘Don’t go looking for trouble,’” he said. “When it comes to our voting, we all need to see what may be wrong. We need to go out and look for trouble, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Deer said women’s healthcare and right to choose are personal.
“Every woman has the right to choose,” he said. “God has given everyone that right.”
Cook County healthcare needs more employees, he said.
“We have to work on diversity when recruiting,” he said. “The staff at the hospital should resemble the community they serve.”
Deer also feels mental health services can help address racism and domestic violence.
For more on Deer, see www.commissionerdeer.com/.
Republican challenger Evan Kasal is treasurer for the Republican Party of Chicago. He lives in Pilsen and is a software salesman.
Addressing crime, Kasal said he would focus on relationship building.
“There needs to be more coordination of law enforcement among the various entities with the County,” he said. “Effort should go into having officers at every level make themselves part of the community. That means not only working to address crime that is happening but also be present during those times that are not traditional police activities. They should go to local festivals, stop in at various businesses and churches. If they are known, they are in a better position to prevent certain crimes but also be recognized as well as helping when situations happen. I think it’s just a matter of being seen as a part of the community.”
Kasal said he understands the dangerous prospect of voter suppression as a threat to democracy. He said Republicans sometimes feel like there is an effort to keep them off the ballot but believes that communicating issues and educating potential candidates and voters will help.
“We need to get more election judges in the process, and it would help if all votes would be thoroughly audited,” he said. “Chain of custody issues must be cleaned up. All of this would help restore public confidence.”
Kasal supports women’s healthcare and choice rights.
“I am personally pro-choice,” he said. “I also believe in states’ rights, so that includes the Supreme Court decision to have states decide. Since it is already legal in Illinois, it is not an issue. I believe the abortion issue is over hyped.”
Health care in general, he said, can be rendered more effectively.
“We have to be able to do more with less,” Kasal said. “We have to retain doctors and nurses and allocate funds from other [non-direct care] positions. We do need to find out why we are losing people to other counties and states. And we need to reduce bureaucracy.”
The most significant other issue, Kasal said, is seeing corporations leaving the County and the State.
“We have companies like Tyson and Citadel moving out of state, and there are companies moving beyond the borders of Cook County,” Kasal said. “We need to get them back and at the same time there should be an effort to bring more small business back, which is most of our employment.”
For information on Kasal, see https://ballotpedia.org/Evan_Kasal.
3RD DISTRICT
Incumbent Bill Lowry is unopposed in the 3rd District as he seeks a second term. He chairs the board’s Emergency Management and Regional Security Committee and vice chairs its Litigation Committee. He also serves on the Audit, Business and Economic Development, Criminal Justice, Environment and Sustainability, Finance, Health and Hospitals, Transportation, and Veterans Committees. His website is https://billlowry.com/.
7TH DISTRICT
In the 7th District, incumbent Democrat Alma E. Anaya is unopposed. She has held her office since 2018. Anaya is vice chair of the Business and Economic Development and Pension Committees. She also serves on the Asset Management, Contract Compliance, Criminal Justice, Finance, Health and Hospitals, Human Relations, Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations, Transportation, and Zoning and Building Committees. Her website is www.cookcountyil.gov/all-people/alma-anaya.
11TH DISTRICT
Incumbent Democrat John P. Daley is the dean of the County Board, having served since 1994. Married and the father of three, he lives in Bridgeport, where he grew up.
Daley strongly supports law enforcement.
“We support the state’s attorney, criminal court system, the judges, and everyone throughout the justice system to make sure they have the resources needed,” he said.
He said the County uses Guidepost, a consulting firm, to help measure enforcement effectiveness. “We need good metrics to see if the funding and other resources are working,” he said, noting metrics not only help address enforcement but citizens’ rights. “You can do both if you have the right information,” Daley said.
Daley said preventing voter suppression and its threat to democracy can be achieved with “reasonable backup” from the County clerk. “Karen Yarbrough is involved in monitoring all of that, and the challenge is having the right technology,” he said. “A big problem is when people request mail-in ballots and don’t return them.”
Daley also noted the importance of working with the postal service to ensure ballots arrive in a timely fashion.
He called women’s healthcare and choice rights core services, which the County has addressed. He added the County shoulders 57% of the charity care burden—too much, he believes.
“We provide the vast majority of charity care, and so private hospitals need to provide more,” he said. “Even if they were to increase their share by 33% or 45%, it would certainly help.”
Daley favors expanding services to address health issues well before they become dire.
He also feels government coordination and responsiveness to constituents are key.
“We are starting to address, as the dollars from the Feds run out, how we can address the needs of each community,” he said. “I would hope that City, County, and State government all work together. I think there has been better coordination. We learned through COVID that we can do this, and we learned to do it through technology.”
Listening to voters also remains important.
“I will get back to them as much as possible,” he said. “Sometimes staff has to do that, but I hope all of us on the board take constituents’ questions as much as possible.”
For more on Daley, see www.cookcountyil.gov/all-people/john-daley.
Republican challenger Declan Smith grew up and lives in the West Morgan Park/West Beverly neighborhood. He graduated from Brother Rice High School and is a senior at St. Xavier University studying finance while working at a local bank. He served as a local committeeperson for the Republican Party.
Fighting crime, Smith said, should be a top priority for the position.
“The commissioner is very important to make sure officers are not demoralized by efforts to defund,” he said. “Budgets can be the bully pulpit. Commissioners need to stand up to the state’s attorney.”
Supporting officers requires giving them the best training, equipment, and compensation, he feels.
“We need tough laws because people commit crime because they know they can get away with it,” Smith said. “We need to enforce trespassing laws, kidnapping laws, and taking car jackers off the street. And there should not be cashless bail.”
He also advocates for education, including getting those who do not have jobs into the trades and supporting that opportunity with necessary training.
Combating voter suppression as a threat to democracy will require getting more people to volunteer in the election process, Smith said.
“I’d like to see as many people as possible go to the polls, but I also want them to feel safe,” he said. “Obviously, I’d like to see stronger voting laws.” He said Illinois should look to other states to see what works. “And I’d like to see the vote come in and counted right way,” he added. “Florida did a good job of that.”
For women’s healthcare and choice rights, Smith said. “I would like to see more people seek alternatives to abortion, maybe seeking better ways to putting up a child for adoption.”
He thinks mental health care is important and needs to be provided. “I am open to all options being explored,” he said.
Privatizing services is another of Smith’s issues.
“We need to think outside the box,” he said. “I believe many services will be better if they are privately run. The bottom line is that patients will get better care at a more affordable cost to the County.”
Taxation is another issue important to Smith, who noted businesses are leaving what he calls the County’s “high-tax environment.” Smith has advocated for capping property taxes at 2% and 4% for businesses.
For more on Smith, see https://electdeclan.com/.
Libertarian challenger Brandon Sizelove lives in Garfield Ridge. He is married with one child and works as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technician. He said having the Libertarian Party represented on the ballot is a plus because “It allows people like me to participate by running for office.”
Sizelove called crimea public health crisis.
“We should approach crime like we did COVID because it is that important,” he said. “It will take more than government and politicians, though. It will take businesses and other parts of the County to come up with ideas, to listen to people and do whatever they can. Having 1,000 people a year murdered is just not acceptable.”
Sizelove said resources should go toward violence counselors.
“A lot can be done to help people understand the consequences of their actions and to not act on their anger,” he said. “Police should be more involved in positive experience, such as little league and basketball tournaments.”
Sizelove added that proper training and communication among local governments are important elements in combating crime.
Sizelove does not see voter suppression and its threat to democracy as a major issue.
“I have not heard of any specific examples,” he said. “There may be opportunities to increase the number of observers in the process, but to me there are a lot of checks and balances.”
He sees more room for improvement in women’s healthcare and choice rights.
“Information is key,” he said. “Put out as much information as possible, do research, and make this straightforward and nonpolitical. This is a decision that is between the individual and their healthcare provider.”
He hopes people make decisions with real healthcare issues in mind so that whatever decision is made is “not hazardous to their health.”
The broader healthcare issue for Sizelove is finding employees to fill 2,000 positions throughout the County health system. “Even if it means bringing in temporary workers,” he said.
He also advocates expanding outreach through methods such as mobile clinics.
Sizelove opposes what he called short-sighted solutions to increase revenue and cut expenditures.
“For example, I’d like to see us get rid of the red-light camera program because I don’t think it’s a good way for governments to raise funds,” he said. “I also don’t think it was a good idea to cut staff in the forest preserves. That has affected pension funds. And raising taxes is not a good idea to address that either.”
For more on Sizelove, see www.facebook.com/BSCCCDist11/.
Editor’s note: William S. Bike also contributed to this article.