Illinois Congressional Races

The filing deadline for candidacy in the 2006 U.S. Congressional race has passed here in Illinois, and the 10th District has not one but two challengers to Republican incumbent Mark Kirk. The fact that a district considered unwinnable in the last two elections should have two eager Democratic challengers indicates an increasing skepticism towards the Republican leadership and a realization that Mark Kirk stands with George W. Bush more than with his District. Kirk has voted 91% of the time with Tom Delay and has voted against ethics rules in the interest of protecting the currently-indicted Delay. Lest we forget this little chestnut from Mark Kirk from last month:

I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states ... I think that when we look at the threat that's out there, young men between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe a certain amount of scrutiny should be place on them

Anyway, I am thus far throwing my proverbial weight behind Dan Seals. Seals is generating a lot of early support because of his strong background and his attention to the most pressing issues to our district like the Iraq war, the deficit, and health care. He is also coming out strongly against Mark Kirk's ties with Bush and empahsizing the important message that right now our country is on the wrong track. Plus, he is an open-minded candidate, having made a point of saying that he doesn't know everything there is to know on local issues and therefore wants the input of the people from the District.

Here's an excerpt from a recent article about Dan:

WAUKEGAN — Dan Seals of Winnetka, one of two announced Democratic candidates hoping to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, has made his first public appearance in north Lake County.

"We have to get our country back on track," he told a group of Democratic activists Tuesday night at GoJo's restaurant in Waukegan. "We've mismanaged and squandered so many opportunities."

"He reminds me of Barak Obama," said one Democratic precinct committeeman.

Seals, like the popular U.S. senator, is tall, about 6 feet 4, slim, African American, has graduate degrees from prestigious schools and speaks to some of the same issues raised by Obama. At 34, he is 10 years younger than Obama.

...Seals called Kirk, the Republican incumbent from Highland Park, "a rubber stamp" for the Bush administration.

"He votes 90 percent of the time with Bush," he said. "He voted to give Big Oil a $14.5 billion tax credit. He voted to intervene in the Terry Schaivo case. He voted to cut funding for college aid by $14 billion ... I don't think that represents our values."

...Seals taught in Japan after getting a degree from Boston University. The experience sharpened his interest in international policy, he said. After his return to America, Seals received a master's degree in public policy from the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C., and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

In Washington, he worked for the Department of Commerce and was an aide for economic issues to Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman. This is his first run for elected public office.

He is a director at GE Commercial Finance. His wife works for Kraft Foods

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