On March 18, thousands will head to the polls for the Illinois general primary election. Anyone who is a citizen, lives in Illinois, is a registered voter, and will be at least 18 years old by November 4 will be able to vote.
Early voting is underway now, and from Monday through Saturday until the 18th, voters can visit 51 sites spread throughout Cook, Dupage, Kane, Will, and Lake County to cast their ballots. Libertyville citizens can vote at multiple locations throughout the town, including Oak Grove school and the Lake County Central Permit Facility.
The most anticipated position up for grabs is the governor seat. Incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn will try to retain his seat against Tio Hardiman on the Democratic ballot. Bill Brady, Kirk Dillard, Bruce Rauner, and Dan Rutherford will compete in the Republican primary race. Chad Grimm is the lone libertarian running for state governor. A Chicago Tribune poll found that as of March 3, Bruce Rauner has garnered a 40% support rating out of 600 registered voters in the Republican race.
While all of these men are going after the same seat, they all come from different backgrounds. Quinn was sworn in as governor on Jan 29, 2009 after Rod Blagojevich was kicked out of office. Quinn previously served the state in various positions for the last 30 years. Hardiman is an outspoken activist who was the director for the award winning documentary The Interrupters, a film about formerly notorious people trying to protect their own communities. Ironically, Hardiman was arrested for domestic violence in 2013. Brady and Dillard are both state senators, Rauner is a venture capitalist, Rutherford is the state treasurer and a fitness club manager.
Each candidate has different objectives he wants to bring to the table. For instance, Rauner wants to impose term limits so no state governor can serve more than eight years (two terms). Brady is one of multiple candidates who wants to see the end of the 67% tax hike on personal income. Dillard strongly supports the 2nd amendment and will push for concealed carry legislation if he goes to office. Rutherford wants to stop the growth of state government to protect people’s personal finances. All of the candidates listed their policies on their respective campaign websites.
On Thursday, February 27, the GOP held a televised debate which covered issues from spending and pension reform to gun control. Candidates threw verbal jabs at each other. Brady called Dillard an unreliable leader, and stated the third time’s not the charm for Rauner, as he is running for this spot for a 3rd consecutive time. Rauner stated his opponents have been part of the problem in Springfield for decades. Whether you want to hear political talk, back talk, or both, there will be one final debate on March 13 on WTTW at 7.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Rauner has spent $6 million of his own money on his campaign, a new all-time record for an Illinois governor candidate. Including funds from others, he has now raised $14 million. To put that into perspective, Bill Brady had raised just over $250,000 at the end of March last year.
