9th District candidates split on war, economy
Preventing people's additional losses of personal wealth and home values and reducing taxes are among Michael Younan's motivations for challenging U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky.
Schakowsky, an Evanston Democrat, opposes the underfunded political newcomer in seeking her sixth term representing Illinois' 9th congressional district.
Schakowsky said she wants to continue to help people and particularly wants to see every American get health care. Even people who have insurance can find it does not work when they need it, she said, and she supports the health care plan of Sen. Barack Obama, Democratic candidate for president.
Younan, a Niles Republican, manages medical offices and owns two businesses. He also believes in universal health care, starting with incentives to individuals and businesses that provide this service. He said if companies were allowed to band together to purchase care, it would cost less. He also would like to see people allowed to purchase health care across state lines.
On his Web site, Younan has accused Schakowsky of ethical violations, particularly because of the 2006 conviction of her husband, Robert Creamer, for writing checks without funds when he was running a not-for-profit organization. Younan said Schakowsky signed fraudulent tax returns.
Schakowsky said there had been a charge against Creamer that dealt with employee withholding taxes, but never anything to do with Creamer's personal taxes or hers.
Schakowsky says she has attended more than 500 different events and meetings in the district since the last election and has not neglected constituents while campaigning for Obama, whose election, she said, is important for causes she has worked on, including health care and women's right to obtain abortions.
While Younan, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, thinks the United States went into the Iraq war based on faulty information and needed more troops from the beginning, he thinks withdrawal needs to be managed slowly over the next two or three years as the Iraqi government takes control of the country.
Schakowsky, who has long opposed the war, said the country needs to work with Iraqi leaders who have a plan for U.S. withdrawal.
"There aren't any great answers right now for Iraq," she said. "Continuing U.S. occupation is not one of them."
As for Iran, Younan said the United States cannot allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, but hopefully any military action should be taken in conjunction with the United Nations and our allies in that area.
Schakowsky said if Barack Obama is elected president, he will be more capable than President Bush of building a coalition to contain Iran. She opposes bombing the country, because nuclear plants are spread in different areas, and many Iranians are friendly to the United States.
Morris Shanfield of Chicago, a retired journalist, is the Green Party candidate whose positions include immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
The 9th congressional district stretches from Mount Prospect Road in Des Plaines on the west to Lake Michigan on the east, taking in Rosemont, Park Ridge, Niles, Morton Grove, Skokie, Evanston, Norridge, Harwood Heights and some Chicago lakefront neighborhoods.