It’s happening folks at the local level.
In Illinois Democrats just won local seats that were held by Republicans for more than 100 years!! There was a complete changeover to all Democrats in the city of Kankakee!
This is very exciting, because Democrats are very energized and the 'throw the bums out’ mentality is percolating out there at the local level. We have to win at this level to really change things.
James Thompson losing by just 6.8% in a ruby red KS-04 district is a harbinger of great things to come for Democrats. These local races in Illinois validate that Democrats are energized and ready to go!
Let's do this!
www.huffingtonpost.com/...
WASHINGTON ― In a spate of local elections last week in Illinois, Democrats picked up seats in places they’ve never won before.
The city of Kankakee elected its first African-American, Democratic mayor. West Deerfield Township will be led entirely by Democrats for the first time. Elgin Township voted for “a complete changeover,” flipping to an all-Democratic board. Normal Township elected Democratic supervisors and trustees to run its board ― the first time in more than 100 years that a single Democrat has held a seat.
“We had a pretty good day,” said Dan Kovats, executive director of the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association. “We won in areas we normally would win, but we also won in areas Republicans never expected us to be competitive in. They were caught flat-footed.”
These may seem like relatively small victories ― we’re talking about municipal races in towns with tens of thousands of people ― but they fit with a broader pattern that should have Republicans on edge ahead of the 2018 elections: Progressive grassroots activism, exploding with energy since President Donald Trump’s win in November, is fueling Democratic gains in GOP strongholds.
Chemberly Cummings and Arlene Hosea are among the Build The Bench alumni who recently won races. They both made history by becoming the first black members of Normal Town Council and Normal Township Trustee, respectively. That is no small feat in a predominately white, Republican region of the state.
www.chicagotribune.com/...
Elgin Township will experience a complete changeover when the newly elected supervisor and trustees are sworn in.
Challenger for the supervisor position, Franklin Ramirez, defeated incumbent Annette Miller. Ramirez won the supervisor seat Tuesday with 49 percent of the vote to Millers 45 percent, according to unofficial results.
Ramirez said Wednesday that the sea change — an entirely Democrat party board — was a first for Elgin Township in recent memory.
"It is the first time in history, to our knowledge, for a Democrat to be elected supervisor" of Elgin Township, Ramirez said.