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Many good candidates on March 19 Democratic primary ballot
By Ray Hanania
I can’t support Congressman Sean Casten this time because he betrayed a campaign promise to maintain an open door on local issues.
So, I would recommend a vote for Mahnoor Ahmed, who previously worked for former Congresswoman Marie Newman who was a phenomenal representative until the Democrats decided to dice up the 3rd Congress District.
Their purpose was to divide and weaken the growing Arab and Muslim American vote in the Southwest Suburbs, because of support he got from a foreign country that has enormous influence over American national politics. Pro-Israel PAC’s have pumped hundreds of millions into the campaigns of candidates like Casten, who got $187,182 from them, according to Open Secrets which monitors the influx of foreign money into our election system.
When someone pays you $187,182, who do you think you are going to answer too?
There are several legislative races, to, where despite efforts to undermine their influence, Arab American candidates are running.
Foremost in State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid in the 21st District. He’s Palestinian and has been attacked by the the Chicago Tribune because he is “Palestinian” and cares about the conflict in the Middle East. Can you imagine that newspaper attacking a Polish, Irish, Italian or Jewish candidate for having heritage leanings?
Another new face is Sonia Anne Khalil in the 36th House District. I have known her for years and she is a hard worker, principled and would do a great job succeeding retiring representative Kelly M. Burke. Khalil has been attacked because of her Middle East ethnicity, but it fits well with the growing Middle East population in the district.
I’m also supporting Qasim Rashid in the 11th Congress District Race over unresponsive Bill Foster.
In judicial races, I would support former Oak Lawn Mayor Dave Heilmann in the 19th Judicial SubCircuit. His website is FriendsofHeilmann.com.
In the 15th SubCircuit, which includes much but not all of Orland Park, I would back Paul O’Grady, the Orland Township Committeeman. O’Grady is on Orland Mayor Keith Pekau’s hit list mainly because Pekau wants to be alone controlling everything in the Orland Park region from the Township to the schools.
I witnessed a red Orland Park Public Works trucks tearing up O’Grady’s campaign signs a few weeks back. That’s ironic because a year earlier, Pekau placed his slate’s signs illegally up against the main street curbs instead of being 5 feet from the curb.
I also really like Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (WRMD) President Kari Steele, who shares the same principles of honesty and hard work as her father, former Chicago 6th Ward Alderman John O. Steele who later became an Illinois Appellate Court judge. Alderman Steele was a great voice on the City Council and Kari Steele has been a voice of change and solutions at the WRMD.
Steele is seeking re-election along with colleagues Marcelino Gracia, Daniel Pogorzelski and Precious Brady-Davis.
I really like Suzanne Akhras a candidate for Illinois State Representative in the 82nd House District. Akhras’ husband is Dr. Zaher Sahloul who is the president of Med-Global which has provided volunteer emergency medical services to refugees and victims of war and conflicts through the world including in the Middle East.
Mariyana Spyropoulos, running for the office of Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Courts, said her priority will be to clean up the conflicts and “mess.” Spyropoulos — whose name rhymes with metropolis — is very active and engaged. She reaches out to everyone.
I’m not taking sides in the Democratic fight for Cook County State’s Attorney.
This is probably the most important race, finding someone. better to succeed controversial and pro-criminal incumbent Kim Foxx. Foxx has made it her priority to make life easier for the criminals and to shift the burden onto the law abiding citizens and businesses. Her support of liar and hoaxster Jussie Smollett was a real disgrace.
Neither candidate, former Appellate Court Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke nor the party favorite Clayton Harris II, has addressed the issues of crime that Foxx set in motion nor have them slammed Foxx’s policies which concerns me. Instead, they have wasted precious time attacking the police union president, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara who is the only person speaking out against Foxx’s lax policies.
I am definitely not going to support President Joe Biden, as you may know from listening to my Two Guys on Politics podcast on Youtube. Biden truly is a failure and a hypocrite who promised to bring the two sides, Democrats and Republicans together, but has instead used the polarization in this country to try to bolster his failed policies.
I’ll wait until the November election and cast a vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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(Ray Hanania is an award-winning former Chicago City Hall reporter and political columnist. This column was originally published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group in the Des Plaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers. For more information on Ray Hanania visit www.Hanania.com or email him at [email protected].)
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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