Election Names

PRIMARY election day dawned March 18, amid predictions of low voter turnout and apathy. And indeed, only about 25 percent of the state's 6.1 million registered voters bothered to go to the polls. While those who went in and asked for Democratic ballots may not have known much about the candidates, they gave the Democratic party a shock, it was not ready to deal with. Here are the "people's choices" for the top slots on both sides of the ballot:

Statewide candidates

Incummbent Democrat Alan J. Dixon will have to defend his U.S. Senate seat against a feisty Republican, Judy Koehler, who ran in the only contested primary on the Republican ballot. Gov. James R. Thompson ran unopposed on the Republican ticket for a bid at a fourth term, and Lt. Gov. George H. Ryan ran unopposed as his running mate. Adlai K. Stevenson III, who won the Democratic nomination for governor may possibly be without a party. Stevenson thought George E. Sangmeister, the Mokena Senator from the 42nd District, would be his running mate against Thompson and Ryan. With the nomination of Mark J. Fairchild, a 28-year-old follower of political extremist Lyndon H. LaRouehe Jr., for the lieutenant governor's spot on the Democratic ticket, Stevenson was "hitched" to Fairchild and his troubles began. Incumbent Atty. Gen. Neil F. Hartigan easily dispatched his challenger, crusading Chicago alderman Martin J. Oberman, for the Democratic nomination. Hartigan will face the Republican choice. Arlington Heights Mayor James T. Ryan. For the powerful office of secretary of state, incumbent Jim Edgar, a Republican favorite, has to contend with another "March surprise," Janice A. Hart, who works with Fairchild for Caucus Distributors Inc. and who is a member of LaRouche's National Democratic Policy Committee. The voters chose Hart, who would use the office to mobilize tanks on Chicago's State Street, over regular Democrat Aurelia M. Pucinski. Pucinski, a member of the Chicago Metropolitan Sanitary District Board, was slated by the Democrats as their "compromise" woman candidate. (See "The Democrats' biennial ritual," February 1986, p. 12.)

The treasurer's race pits Springfield's Republican mayor, Mike Houston, against former Treasurer Jerry Cosentino, who managed to defeat the slated incumbent, James H. Donnewald, in a four-way Democratic race which also included political activist Patrick Quinn and Janice Hart's husband, Robert.

And for the privilege of keeping track of the state's monthly available balance, incumbent Democrat Comptroller Ronald W. Burris will square off against veteran legislator Adeline Jay Geo-Karis, the Republican state senator from Zion (31st District).

To make matters more complicated for the Democrats, Stevenson has said he will not run on the same ticket with the LaRouche candidates. Party leaders spent the weeks after the election deciding how to remove themselves from the horns of a dilemma which can affect the entire Democratic ticket. Whatever the outcome, Stevenson is determined to be on the November ballot, even if he has to file as a third party, along with any other parties such as the Libertarians and Taxpayers. If Stevenson decides to go the third-party route, he has until August 4, to file a full slate of candidates with the State Board of Elections. (See "Election law reform" on pp. 20-21.)

U.S. Senate

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ballot, Republicans were not faced with any such controversies. The only major contest came in the spot for U.S. Senate, with Koehler, a downstate member of the Illinois House, vying with a Chicago industrialist for a chance to knock off Dixon. Koehler (R-89, Henry) mustered the grass-roots support she needed to defeat George A. Ranney Jr., who had entered the race only after former Congressman Tom Corcoran dropped out. Koehler won with an impressive 55 percent of the vote.

U.S. Congress

The state's 22 members of Congress had no trouble with their primary races. Thirteen of the incumbents were unopposed. The rest easily beat their primary opponents. Two Republican congressmen, however, will be facing LaRouchian candidates on the November ballot. In the 13th District, Rep. Harris W. Fawell is up against Dominick J. Jeffrey, a 26-year-old freight shipping company supervisor from LaGrange. And Rep. Edward Madigan (R-15, Lincoln) has to contend with LaRouchian William J. Brenner, a 60-year-old farmer from Onarga.

General Assembly

With the exception of seven open seats, most of the members of the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate up for reelection enjoyed the advantage of incumbency, fending off intraparty challenges or riding through with no opponent. Six incumbents did not fair so well.

Two veteran Democratic senators and one Republican rookie senator went down to defeat. The two veterans, Edward A. Nedza in the 6th District, and Glenn V. Dawson in the 18th, both allied with Chicago alderman and Cook County Democratic chairman Edward R. Vrdolyak were defeated respectively by a black and a Hispanic candidate: Dawson by Rep. Howard Brookins (D-36, Chicago), Nezda by newcomer Miguel Del Valle.

Named January 31 to fill the Senate seat vacated by the death of Sen. Prescott Bloom, Peoria banker David Leitch may hold the record for soonest to reach lame-duck status. Leitch was forced to wage a write-in campaign for the GOP nomination and was defeated by another write-in candidate, Rep. Carl Hawkinson (R-94, Galesburg). Hawkinson also won the primary race for his seat in the House. He will vacate the House slot to seek the Senate seat in November. Samuel M. McGrew, who lost the seat to Hawkinson in 1982 was the Democratic choice for the 94th district.

Three Democratic incumbents in the House, all Chicagoans, were relegated to the lame-duck list by challengers. In the 11th District, Rep. Steven G. Nash lost to Robert (Bob) Bugielski; Rep. Larry S. Bullock was defeated by Lovana S. Jones in the 20th District; and Paul L. Williams beat Rep. Jerry Washington for the nomination in the 24th District.

In another dual race, Rep. Juan M. Soliz (D-20, Chicago) won both the nomination to his House seat and his bid in the special 25th Ward election for a seat on the Chicago city council. He had said that if he was successful in both races, he would give up his seat in the House of Representatives.

The official tally of primary votes was due to be released April 14 by the State Board of Elections. In the case of Hawkinson and Soliz, who are resigning their ballot slots for House seats, and anyone else who may resign their place on the ballot, the parties have until September 3 to fill those spots on the ballot.

With the easing of the rules covering write-in candidates, there could be more names on the November ballot than either party anticipated. Under the Board of Election's new regulations, if a qualified person receives even one write-in vote and wants to run, the board will certify the person as a candidate in November's election. If there were no candidates on the ballot, or any written in, the parties have only until May 18, 60 days after the primary, to find a candidate to run. In any event, those primary winners who thought they were in for a free ride may be faced with an opponent in November. And it is probably safe to say that no politician in Illinois will ever again regard any opposition as "token."

Nora Newman Jurgens