Washington

Dems lead delegation, 12-10

THE distinguished, 26-year House career of Bob Michel — President Reagan's chief lieutenant in the Democratic-controlled House — nearly came to an abrupt end as recession-wracked voters in the Peoria area sent him a message that will undoubtedly affect his attitude and support for Reaganomics in the next two years.

Illinois' senior senator, Charles Percy, was given the same sort of message in 1978, when voters indicated they thought he was not giving the proper amount of attention to his home state. Percy, like Michel this year, pulled out a close election and vowed to do better for Illinois.

In the toughest political race of his career, Michel squeaked out a 4,412-vote victory over Democratic challenger G. Douglas Stephens, 31, a lawyer and political newcomer, in the early morning hours of November 3 to win reelection to a 14th term. The closeness of the race was not lost on Michel.

Referring to Reagan's economic policies, Michel — who was Reagan's point man in pushing Reaganomics through the House — said after his near-loss, "There has to be some adjustment made from the past two years. If no significant improvements have been made, then we have to make adjustments."

Unemployment was a key factor in most of the congressional races, but it was probably the single most important issue in Michel's district, where about 30,000 people were out of work in the heavily industrial Peoria area. But while Michel survived for at least another two years, one other veteran Republican member of the Illinois congressional delegation was not so lucky, feeling the sting of voter anger about the recession.

Democrat Richard Durbin, a 37-year-old state Senate parliamentarian who failed in a previous bid for lieutenant governor, unseated 22-year Republican Rep. Paul Findley in a race seen as a test of Reaganomics. Findley, 61, a Pittsfield newspaper publisher who was seeking his 12th term, was hurt in Macon and Sangamon counties by Reagan's natural gas pipeline sanctions against the Soviet Union. Voters were aware Fiat-Allis Construction Machinery Inc. in Springfield was going to lay off some 1,600 workers three days after the election because of the sanctions. And Caterpillar Tractor Co. in Decatur had already been hard-hit.

A worker at Fiat-Allis explained Findley's problem: "Decatur is in trouble; roads in the western part of the state aren't being built, and I have never gotten over him and [Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasser] Arafat." Findley was recognized as a leading spokesman for the PLO, but voter resentment of the sanctions and the recession — not his ties to the PLO — was mainly responsible for his election defeat.

Republicans controlled the Illinois delegation 14-10 for the past two years. But reapportionment cut the number of districts from 24 to 22, and, with Durbin snatching Findley's 20th District, Democrats gained a 12-10 edge in the delegation.

Political newcomer Lane Evans, a Rock Island lawyer, won a second seat for Democrats, in the western Illinois 17th District, where the industrial ares of Rock Island and Moline were also hard-hit by unemployment. Evans knocked off Republican state Sen. Kenneth McMillan of Bushnell for the seat held by GOP Congressman Tom Railsback. It was McMillan whon defeated Railsback in a bitter primary battle. Yet, Railsback may have gotten the best of the deal financially. In January, when the new 98th Congress will be sworn in, Railsback becomes an executive vice president of the Motion Picture Association of America. With his experience on the House JudiciaryCommittee, Railsback is expected to be valuable in lobbying Congress on the issue of videotaping home movies and television shows.

At the same time, Republican Rep. Ed Derwinski — who was beat by fellow GOP Rep. George O'Brien in the primary when their districts were merged by reapportionment — will become the counselor of the State Department. Reagan announced the appointment after Derwinski's primary election defeat. Derwinski, elected to the House in 1958, has been a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee since 1963.

The other Republican who lost out to reapportionment was Rep. Robert McClory of Lake Bluff, who decided to retire rather than face fellow GOP Rep. John Porter in a primary battle in a virtually new district.

But other than Findley and Michael, incumbents had little trouble in gaining expected victories. One other new face in the delegation will be Democrat William Lipinski, a Chicago alderman chosen by Cook County State's Attorney Richard Daley to replace Rep. John Fary in the 5th District. Lipinski, like all Chicago Democrats, crushed his Republican challenger.

House Democrats, their numbers strengthened in the election, will be more willing to challenge Reagan and his economic policies in the next two years. Michel and his fellow Republicans may join them, because Reaganomics — as evidenced by the November elections — did not play in Peoria, or in any of the Peorias across the county.

38 | December 1982 | Illinois Issues