Endorsement: Illinois House 56, Democrats

An odd dynamic is at play in the Democratic primary for the 56th Illinois House District, which takes in most of Roselle and Schaumburg and parts of Bloomingdale, Elk Grove Village, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates and Rolling Meadows.

The incumbent in the race, Paul Froehlich of Schaumburg, turned his back on the Republican Party after 30 years of involvement with the GOP. Frankly, we're bothered by his switch to the Democratic Party, not because we oppose Democrats, but because it seems to represent the kind of opportunism inherent in Froehlich's political character. In this case, Froehlich watched in 2006 as his Republican colleague, Terry Parke, was turned out of office by a Democrat, and decided he should switch too before the same thing happens to him. Froehlich was no minor player on the Republican scene; he was the head of the Schaumburg Township organization, and we question what the party switch says about his sense of obligation.

Clearly, we have reservations about endorsing Froehlich for re-election. But despite those reservations and Froehlich's political nature, we have to concede that he's also a politician who gets things done. For years, he's fought against drunken driving and to improve traffic safety. He's worked to allow photo-radar enforcement of speed limits in road construction zones, to limit the number of court supervisions allowed for moving violations and to curb cell phone use by teen drivers.

His primary opponent, attorney John W. Moynihan, is an articulate, level-headed Democrat, a worthy alternative in the race. But Froehlich gets things done, and despite our misgivings about his politics, we think it would be a mistake to reject his nomination. We endorse Paul Froehlich in the Democratic primary.

Republican Anita Forte-Scott is unopposed in her party's primary in this district.