GOP field in 10th growing
Most expect a fierce fight among Democrats with the exodus of U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk in the North suburban 10th District.
The region is tilted Democratic and Kirk, a Highland Park Republican, has had to fight hard to keep the seat. For years district voters haven chosen a Democrat for president. Plus, the national Democrats are expected to make sure they win the seat as they play mostly defense in next year's mid-term elections.
So it is little surprise the Republican side of the race to replace Kirk has been a bit dry. Most recently, a Winnetka attorney said he might run with the backing of Pat Collins, the former federal prosecutor who put GOP Gov. George Ryan in prison.
Now another potential candidate is stepping forward: Renee Thaler, a small business owner in Northfield and Kirk camp insider.
Certainly, any Republican to make it through the primary is going to have an uphill battle. To win, they will need serious name recognition and big bucks.
On the Democrat side so far, state Rep. Julie Hamos, an Evanston Democrat and three-peat candidate Dan Seals are among those running. State Sen. Terry Link, a veteran Waukegan Democrat, is also weighing a bid.
Below is Thaler's press release from this morning.
In other morning political news, Sheila Simon is endorsing Raja Krishnamoorthi, former deputy state treasurer, in the Democratic primary for Illinois Comptroller. Incumbent Dan Hynes is running for governor.
*Former Edgar Official Looking at 10th District Congressional Seat*
NORTHBROOK, IL - Former Edgar Administration official Renee Thaler today
announced that she will form an exploratory committee to consider entering
the GOP primary for the 2010 election to replace Congressman Mark Kirk in
Illinois' 10th District.
Thaler, a life long resident of the district, served in Governor Jim Edgar's
first administration as Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of
Revenue. The owner of a small business in Northfield, IL, Thaler also has
been a political activist in the 10th District and, for the last 15 years, a
public health care advocate for patients of new emerging diseases. Thaler
has been a strong supporter of Congressman Kirk since he ran in 2000 and
currently serves on his Campaign Finance Committee.
"I am considering this race because the time has come to end the reckless
spending in Washington. The Federal debt continues to climb to an estimated
$11 trillion dollars, and if that isn't bad enough, together with our
nation's unfunded liabilities, we owe nearly
$62 trillion dollars*,"* said Thaler.* "*That's more than $200,000 for
every man, woman and child in America and it's growing every day. As a
small business owner, I know we cannot afford to continue burdening
government with so much debt."
Thaler also expressed concern about the current state of health care in the
U.S., including recently proposed legislation to give government more
control.
"I support reasonable health care reform. However, we cannot let government
take over one-sixth of our current economy and add another trillion dollars
to our national debt," said Thaler. "As a health care advocate, I have
worked for common sense changes in the past, and will strongly support
legislation to ensure we protect the doctor-patient relationship, achieve
meaningful lawsuit reform, and promote health care insurance pooling
programs to make it cheaper for small businesses to purchase insurance."
"As I consider this race, I promise to represent the same tradition of
moderate, thoughtful and independent leadership that has served the
10thDistrict so well."
I read that State Rep. Elizabeth Coulson said that she might run for Kirk's seat, and I hope that she'll run. She agrees with him about many issues, and she's been a legislator since 1997.
Renee Thaler will make a formidable candidate. I knew her way back from her days as a Glenview Plan Commissioner. She was known as a go getter and someone who could get things done. Great lady.
Serious candidates tend to avoid races they can't win. That's why Bean hasn't attracted serious opposition. It's probably why Republicans with an office and a record have so far taken on pass on the 10th CD. In short, Kirk's decision not to run for re-election will cost his party a seat in the US House. It's too soon to tell if Kirk has a shot at picking up a senate seat by running an anti-Barack campaign.
Only districts listed in IL as GOP targets are Foster and Halverson....must have aready conceded Bean and the 10th.
Julie Hamos is the front runner for Democrats for the 10th Congressional Seat??? When I think about that I can't stop throwing up! She is another Lakefront Activist Liberal who has no idea how things in the 'real world' work! As a mortgage broker some of the laws she proposed were just onerous and made the process more mired in paperwork and frutstrating for consumers. Her signing on to the passage of HB4050 comes to mind....
We need people in government who have actually run businesses. These people understand that you can't operate in the red, and that you exist to make a profit. Constant deficit spending and ignoring the reality that we are running our state and our country into bankruptcy from the policy of current politicians should automatically disqualify them from any serious public consideration.
The people of this state need politicians that are actually for the people and who are onboard with the people's agenda, not their own agenda. The people of this great state are not so stupid as to need a politician to write laws for them to protect them from themselves. When we reach that stage, that is servitude on our part and gross arrogance on the politicians part. HB4050 is a classic example of legislation written 'to save people from their stupid selves' from the vantage point of a politician.
Let's find someone who has common sense and fiscal restraint as their agenda, not liberal activism, and expansion of government as their vision. Julie Hamos is not one of us and would be diametrically opposed to the views of most of the people I know in the West part of the 10th distict. To get 'change we can believe in' we need fresh blood in government today - now!