Endorsements by the Tribune

[jasonxctf]

In the only 2 competitive Illinois Congressional Races, the Chicago Tribune (notoriously Republican) has endorsed the 2 Democratic Options. Tammy Duckworth in the 6th District and Melissa Bean in the 8th District!!!!

 

 

 

For 32 years the 6th Congressional District of Illinois has been represented by Rep. Henry Hyde, whom this page has long admired. When he takes a position, you know he's standing on principle. He's not afraid to buck his own party, as he did in 1994 when he supported a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons. In the face of death threats, Hyde didn't back away from that. The Tribune said he made " a courageous decision." More recently, he has encouraged the U.S. to lead in the worldwide fight against AIDS. He is a giant in the House, respected as one of the great voices of conservatism. Now he is retiring.

 

So, who should succeed Hyde? We think it's someone who disagrees with him on many issues, but who would bring a similar sense of principle to the House. The Tribune endorses Democrat Tammy Duckworth for Congress.

 

Duckworth grew up in Southeast Asia, the daughter of a U.S. Army officer. She earned a master's degree in international affairs at George Washington University and wanted to pursue a career as a diplomat. But she also felt called to the military and enlisted in the Illinois Army Reserve in 1992.

 

In November 2004, she was piloting a Black Hawk helicopter north of Baghdad that was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. She was grievously wounded; she lost both legs, and her right arm was shattered.

 

She calls on her military experience and her sacrifice when she talks about Iraq but also when she talks about the health-care crisis in America. She benefited from superior Veterans Administration care but knows many other people don't have that option.

 

Duckworth is not nearly as polished a campaigner as her opponent, Republican state Sen. Peter Roskam, who has spent 16 years in the General Assembly. There is something refreshing about that.

 

Roskam likes to call Duckworth a "liberal," but he's been known to use the term loosely. He labeled Republican U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert a "liberal" when he ran against her in 1998. (Biggert, then a state representative, beat him.)

 

Roskam rarely breaks from the party line, but one case in which he did still nags. In 1995 Roskam and his partner in a personal-injury law firm, former state Rep. Al Salvi, set up a special political committee and solicited more than $70,000 in donations from trial lawyers--half of it coming within 48 hours of a crucial vote on a Republican-sponsored tort reform bill. Roskam and Salvi told lawyers they asked for contributions that they wouldn't support tort reform.

 

In the end, Roskam gave in to pressure from Republican leaders and voted for the reform bill--and Salvi and Roskam gave back much of the money they had solicited from the lawyers.

 

That's an interesting concept for Springfield--a money-back guarantee on campaign cash solicited for a vote. But the incident smacked of the kind of special-interest politics that needs to be rousted from Washington.

 

Immigration reform is one of the hot-button issues in this campaign. On that Duckworth recognizes something Roskam doesn't: No solution that focuses solely on the border is sufficient. Roskam has been using scare tactics, campaign ads that say Duckworth supports "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. That isn't true. Duckworth supports the immigration reform plan set out by Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona. She favors adding 12,000 Border Patrol agents, rather than relying on National Guard troops on the border. She supports other tough measures to secure the border.

 

Finally, we're concerned that Roskam would use influence in Washington to thwart the jobs-generating expansion of O'Hare International Airport.

 

Tammy Duckworth would shake up the comfy, entrenched politicians in Washington, and she is endorsed

 

 

In 2004 the Tribune endorsed Melissa Bean over the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House, with the expectation that she would be a pro-growth, pro-trade congresswoman. She has delivered.

 

Rep. Bean has recognized the need to listen very carefully to her constituents--she's a Democrat in a district that gave 56 percent of its vote to President Bush in 2004. She has charted a moderate, independent course and earned the support of Republicans and Democrats. She has been strong on national defense. She took a risk by voting for the Central America Free Trade Agreement. She knew that would anger some in organized labor--but that it would help businesses in her district expand and create jobs. She is an advocate for small business, gaining her the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She has the Tribune's endorsement for a second term in the 8th Congressional District.

 

Her opponent, Republican David McSweeney, is not a bad fit for this district; we endorsed him in the GOP primary. His campaign efforts to make Bean out to be a liberal fall flat, however. Bean is endorsed over McSweeney and Bill Scheurer of Lindenhurst.