Odd endorsement for Hultgren

Odd endorsement for Hultgren

The Daily Herald's Oct. 9 endorsement of Randy Hultgren for Congress in Illinois' 14th District was, at the very least, odd. To me, it clearly made the case for supporting Mr. Hultgren's opponent, Dennis Anderson. Not Mr. Hultgren.

The grounds for their endorsement were weak: The editors like Rep Hultgren because "he has a strong record of doing the work and showing up for votes." Isn't that what the taxpayers are paying him to do? Not a very high standard. He held a health care forum. Is that all it takes? And he has a record of "pushing science and innovation." Sounds good but in reality it's merely lip service since the deficit in innovation funding by Congress is well documented. And those are the reasons!

On the other hand, the editors say Dennis Anderson "is remarkably well versed in a variety of topics necessary to serve in Congress," "would likely do well in bridging the party divide on Capitol Hill" and "on balance is a moderate." And, in their primary endorsement of Anderson, they describe him as having "a rare depth of knowledge on a wealth of issues … representing the best mix of independence, familiarity with the issues and ability to work effectively in Congress."

Let's get real. Rep Hultgren has not made himself available to the public in open forums, has refused to debate, and has a poor voting record on the environment and animal welfare. He has hurt working families by not supporting equal pay for women, the minimum wage increase, extending unemployment, and the Violence Against Women Act. Instead, he has worked to weaken restrictions on the big financial institutions that crashed the economy.

Thank you Daily Herald for reinforcing my vote for Dennis Anderson.

Jessica Chipkin

Huntley