MACOMB, IL -- A Democratic challenger for the Illinois 93rd House District, John Curtis, spoke to Western Illinois University retirees at a candidate forum on Sept. 8. He had the audience to himself.
The office holder for that seat, Republican Norine Hammond, failed to appear, cancelling at the last minute even though she had chosen the time and date.
Hammond has reportedly cast some votes in the General Assembly that harmed WIU, according to Curtis's supporters. They speculated she might be afraid to appear before this group.
Curtis is attractive and well spoken. He told of his background in the region, his relatives that many in the audience knew, and his career at WIU teaching English as a second language to foreign students.
He's a former president of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, served in the Peace Corps, and in his spare time runs Barefoot Gardens, a farm that sells fresh produce to subscribers.
Many of his best customers have left this summer, he said, including some of WIU's best faculty members, worried about the financial instability of Illinois.
He's running for office, he said, because he's frustrated with the current politics in Illinois. He's been campaigning door to door since April, and found 80 percent of those he met "disgusted with both presidential candidates and they don't trust government. They (also) want a plan to get out of this fiscal mess," he said.
They also want term limits -- something he said he disagrees with since it sweeps good legislators out of office -- and they want quality K-12 education, and they worry about erosion of the 2nd Amendment, that is gun rights.
They asked him if he could stand up to House Speaker Michael Madigan and Gov. Bruce Rauner. He would, he said.
He would like to see a "plain old boring state government that nobody notices," he said. "It should never hold the elderly and other vulnerable people hostage."
The "billionaire governor who bought his way into office and is buying loyalty," is a problem, he suggested.
Curtis said he supports unions and collective bargaining, and believes women's reproductive rights should be between the woman and her doctor.
His chief priority for the region would be funding WIU, he said, and he would like to serve on the higher education and agriculture committees if elected. "I will work both sides of the aisle," he said.
Asked about his differences with his opponent, Hammond, he replied "I will be voting 'yes' and 'no,' not present."
He supports increased taxes on the state's millionaires and a penny tax on Board of Trade transactions, he said, to obtain more revenue for state services.
He opposes factory swine farms that would lower nearby property values. "A basic American right is property rights." He's concerned about large corporate ownership of farmland, with investors trading properties among themselves, he said.
On how to dig the state out of its pension funding problems, he said he needs to study that more. With campaigning and running a campaign, he hasn't had much time to look into this, he said.He needs to do that, as pension issues caused former Gov. Pat Quinn to lose his reelection bid, when he turned against the pensioners.
My take: Curtis is certainly to be preferred to Hammond, who is anti-choice, and apparently marches to Rauner's tunes.
The 92nd District is huge -- includes many small towns and several counties. This district is generally poor and should be voting Democratic, if only people will register and vote.
In a mock election last year, WIU students voted for Bernie Sanders, so they need to be mobilized for the Nov. 8 election.
Curtis has raised some serious money, and has a chance, however slim, to win on Nov. 8. Here's his Facebook page with photos.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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