Education matters with candidates

Candidates' college experience is a decent proxy for their raw brain power and the rigor of their training. One would expect candidates with strong educational backgrounds to better understand and effectively deal with the complex issues facing Congress.

So, I think it worthwhile to examine the educational backgrounds of Lauren Underwood and Randy Hultgren.

Ms. Underwood is a Registered Nurse (RN) with a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan (ranked the fourth best national public university.) She went on to receive a master's in Nursing, and a Master of Public Health in Public Health Nursing & Health Policy, from Johns Hopkins University (ranked first nationally in those fields.).

Mr. Hultgren earned a bachelor's degree from Bethel University (a small, evangelical Minnesota college,) and a law degree from Chicago's Kent College of Law.

Education certainly isn't everything. But it should play a key role in evaluating candidates' ability to acquire and apply comprehensive insight regarding multifarious national problems such as Medicare and other health care, Social Security, federal finance and taxes, macroeconomic issues and environmental change, among many others.

Darold Barnum

Oak Park