Clarendon Hills attorney latest to join fray to unseat Roskam
Residents in the 6th Congressional District now represented by U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam value fiscal responsibility - but also social progress, says a Clarendon Hills lawyer who has thrown her name into the 2018 race.
District residents are concerned about the future of health insurance coverage and the burden of national debt. And they want their voices heard in Washington, D.C., says Jennifer Zordani, 53, who has joined the crowded field of Democrats seeking to unseat the Republican next year.
"It's not right that we've thrown our country into the hands of a few special interests and we try to tell people that something is getting done for them," Zordani said Friday. "Nothing is getting done for the people in our district."
Zordani, a regulatory attorney, joins five other Democratic women from across the district that stretches from Naperville to Tower Lakes in announcing a bid for the seat in Congress.
Roskam has held the position since 2007, but Zordani said all he's been doing lately is following Republican leaders "like a little sheep," from President Donald Trump to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
"We don't need sheep in Washington. We need a real new voice," she said. "I'm fired up."
Zordani said her background in law leaves her prepared to read proposed bills and dig into the legislative role of the position - working with anyone who wants to address issues such as health care, Social Security and the tax code.
"I'm not wedded to a certain old-fashioned way of doing things, an old standard," she said.
Zordani's first line of competition won't be Roskam, however. In a primary next spring, she'll be facing five fellow Democratic women who also want to see the seat swing blue.
The field features Becky Anderson Wilkins, a Naperville City Council member and business owner; Carole Cheney, a congressional aide from Aurora; Amanda Howland, an attorney and College of Lake County trustee; Kelly Mazeski, a Barrington Hills plan commission member; and Suzyn Price, a former Naperville school board member.
A focus on ethics and legislative progress is what Zordani says will set her apart.
"I'm a hardworking person with a lot of integrity," she said. "And I think that's what this district wants."