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11th District Race Heats Up
Produced by Michael Puente on Wednesday, January 30, 2008
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Darlene Tascher says she'll vote for the candidate who opposes a new airport near her town of Peotone. (Photo by Michael Puente/WBEZ) |
Democrats may hold the reins of power in Chicago. But in the outlying suburbs, that's often not the case. Republicans dominate municipal, county board and congressional seats. But at least one congressional seat that includes the far south and southwest suburbs this fall could go to Democrats. We take a look at the open race in 11th Congressional District.
Walk into Bill’s Diner in little Bradley, Illinois, any time of the day and the first thing that hits you is the smell of pancakes on the griddle. Here at Bills, about an hour south of Chicago in Kankakee County, the coffee, like the pancakes, is always served hot and fresh.
These days around Bradley and neighboring Bourbonnais, much of the talk in warm, family-owned diners like this one is about the slumping economy. And more than ever, the talks's about who’d do the best job for this area in Congress.
ROGGE: I see the downturn in the housing market. And I see the mortgage lenders going under. And, our agents are not happy with the way it’s going.
That’s Betty Rogge who works in a real estate office here in Bradley.
ROGGE: We’re hoping that the next guy that comes up will make it better. Make our economy better. We don’t want a recession, or a depression, which I was born in.
Maybe, says Rogge, the district’s ready for change in political direction, too. Jerry Weller’s represented this area as a Republican in Congress since 1994.
It’s a seat the GOP was able to count on for years until Weller announced his retirement last fall. Weller’s decision to retire came following questions over his land holdings in Central America and his marriage to a woman whose father some call a Guatemalan dictator.
There’ve been lots of questions about Weller’s priorities.
But DePaul University political science professor Wayne Steger says Republicans are making an effort to keep this sprawling district that stretches just south of Chicago, east almost to the Mississippi River and all the way south to Bloomington-Normal.
STEGER: Anytime you have an open seat, that’s the best chance, normally, for the other party to gain that seat. But it’s probably a district that still leans Republican. That’s part of why you see so many Republicans fighting for this because they see it as an opportunity to hold it.
That field of Republican candidates includes Jimmy Lee, a LaSalle County resident and former White House official under President Bush; Terry Heenan, an airline pilot from New Lenox; and Timothy Baldermann, who’s the mayor of New Lenox and police chief in Chicago Ridge.
The winner will face Democrat State Senator Debbie Halvorson of Crete. She’s running unopposed in the primary, as is Green Party candidate Jason Wallace, a downstate college student.
In a district this size, the needs and concerns can vary from traffic congestion in more populated areas like Joliet to agricultural issues in the vast rural areas. And everywhere housing.
HALL: The housing market really slowed down. There’s a lot of houses up for sales, just sitting there.
New Lenox resident Terry Hall shares his concern over a drink in an upscale tavern in Will County, which had seen a housing boom in recent years. He says he's still undecided who he’ll vote for.
He says he’s more of a Democrat, but could go either way, depending on a range of issues. Farther south in the town of Peotone, there's just one issue. And, it’s the same one that’s dominated for the past 20 years.
TASCHER: Our major issue is no third airport.
Darlene Tascher is co-owner of the Second Street Salon, in quaint downtown Peotone.
Tascher’s family’s lived near Peotone for four generations. She believes the area stands to lose much if an airport comes in, including large tracks of farm land, wildlife areas, while bringing in major traffic headaches.
TASCHER: We like the small town. We like it here because we are 60 miles south of Chicago. Why bring Chicago down here when there’s other areas that’s is better fitted for it? Keep it up there.
Of the Republican candidates, only airline pilot Terry Heenan opposes a long-standing effort to build a third Chicago-area airport near Peotone.
As in any campaign, money will be key. Democrat Debbie Halvorson has raised more than $400,000, compared to Baldermann’s $100,000 and Lee’s 56,000. And that’s just the primary.
The national parties are expected to weigh in with financial help for their candidates in November as they vie to keep or gain this important congressional seat.
I'm Michael Puente, Chicago Public Radio
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