Just thought I'd share with everyone an email that was just sent out by Daniel Biss, a very popular State Senate candidate in Illinois that some of you may be familiar with from his netroots fundraiser success.
Follow me below the flip for the full email text.
Dear Bryan,
I took advantage of early voting to cast my ballot in the Democratic primary yesterday. And while voting for myself was certainly an interesting experience, more important are the many contested primary races. I thought I'd share my very strong feelings about 4 of them:
For Cook County State's Attorney: Larry Suffredin
For Illinois Appellate Court: Alan Greiman
For Cook County Recorder of Deeds: Ed Smith
For U.S. Congress, 3rd District: Mark Pera
I've written some comments about each of these candidacies below. The first three candidates are running in all of Cook County, whereas Pera's district is in Southwestern Cook. Please feel free to pass my comments along to anyone who might find them useful!
All best,
Daniel
Daniel Biss for State Representative
Illinois 17th District
847-492-0961
http://www.danielbiss.com/
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Larry Suffredin for State's Attorney
The office of Cook County State's Attorney is incredibly important; the State's Attorney is the top law enforcement officer in the county, with tremendous criminal as well as civil powers. As such, it's critical that the State's Attorney have impeccable judgement and a deep sense of fairness. The office's responsibilities include taking on public corruption, which means that independence is also an absolutely critical quality to look for in a candidate.
One candidate for this office has a proven record as an independent-minded reformer, working effectively and strategically to advance progressive values against the opposition of both Republicans and Democrats. That candidate is Larry Suffredin.
Larry's experience as an attorney shows us that he has the judgement needed to perform this difficult job well, and his tenure on the County Board shows us that he's able to back up his rhetoric of independence with actions that make a huge difference on behalf of residents of the county. I'm proud to support him for State's Attorney.
Let me close by saying that I know there are people reading this who have serious misgivings about Larry's candidacy. I understand and respect your position, but I still feel strongly that Larry is the best choice. If you're still on the fence, I'd be delighted to talk more about this; just drop an email or call 847-492-0961. Thanks!
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Alan Greiman for Illinois Appellate Court
This is another critical office which is far too often overlooked. Think of the federal judicial system, where we frequently talk about the damage done to the Supreme Court by the Bush administration but sometimes forget that appointments to lower federal courts can be even more dangerous. The situation here is similar: the Illinois Appellate Court hears 5,000 cases annually, and the Supreme Court hears 200. In other words, for the other 4,800 (96%), the Appellate Court is the final court of appeal.
Alan is a man with uncommon intelligence, wisdom, and judgement, and in his 11 years as Chief Justice, he has transformed the culture of the Appellate Court, bringing efficiency and compassion to this important position.
Many residents of Cook County unfortunately see our political and law enforcement systems as deeply unfair and unequal. There are racial, economic, geographical, and political divides that, sadly, leave some of our neighbors at a constant disadvantage and without real opportunity. In a climate like that, we need more than ever a judicial system that is truly blind and compassionate. Or, simply put, we need Alan Greiman.
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Ed Smith for Cook County Recorder of Deeds
I'm not going to start this endorsement by saying that the Cook County Recorder of Deeds office is another critical position that we don't pay enough attention to. That's because the office as it's currently configured so lacks transparency that it's hard to figure out what exactly they do. (The Tribune went one step further and endorsed Ed Smith because they thought he was likely to abolish the office altogether.)
I think it's time for a new day in Cook County politics, a day of openness, transparency, and integrity. That's why I'm supporting Ed Smith, whose 40-year career as a community organizer and elected official demonstrates his independence, integrity, and commitment to progressive values. (Plus, before that, he was a Peace Corps volunteer; that alone was enough to earn Karin's vote!)
Ed is a part of the "change coalition" that will transform the Democratic Party in Cook County and Illinois, and I'm proud to support him.
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Mark Pera for U.S. Congress, 3rd District
Mark is running against Democratic incumbent Dan Lipinski in the 3rd District in Southwestern Cook County (click here for a map). Almost nobody on this list can even vote for Mark, so I struggled for some time with the question of whether to include this endorsement, but in the end I think it's too important to omit.
All signs (polling, fundraising, primary results in early states) suggest that 2008 will be a great year for Democrats. That means it's all the more important to insure that we have the right kind of Democratic party. What exactly that means is complicated, but I'm sure we can all agree on this: there's no room for Dan Lipinski in our vision of the Democratic party.
Strong words, right? Well, here's why I feel so strongly.
Nepotism and subversion of Democracy? Lipinski's for it.
A woman's right to choose? Lipinski's against it.
Corruption? Lipinski's for it.
Stem cell research? Lipinski's against it.
The war in Iraq? Lipinski's for it.
Civil rights for the LGBT community? Lipinski's against them.
This race presents an opportunity to weigh in on what values the Democratic party is going to stand for, and those don't necessarily come along as often as we'd like. This race could have meaningful far-reaching consequences; I hope it will.
There are other candidates running in the 3rd District, and a few people on this list, people whose opinions I deeply respect, are supporting some of them. Again, I don't live in the district and I don't know all the candidates, so I hesitated to weigh in. But I can tell you this: Mark is against nepotism, pro-choice, against corruption, for stem cell research, against the war, and for civil rights. And in my book, that's a pretty good start.