Buffalo Grove trustee Stone mentioned for 59th Dist. run
Sensing that the 59th House District is ripe for the picking in the wake of Democratic Rep. Kathy Ryg's departure, state Republicans have been scouting potential candidates.
One of those candidates could be recently elected Buffalo Grove Trustee Lisa Stone.
Kevin Artl, political director of the Illinois House Republican Organization, said he spoke with Stone and others recently while taking the political temperature of the area for the 2010 election. In the course of the discussion with Stone, her name emerged as a possibility.
Republicans are targeting a number of districts statewide and meeting with community leaders in those areas to talk about the "dynamics of the district and what qualities winning candidates have to possess."
Of Stone, Artl said she won in a hotly contested municipal election.
"She was kind of a fresh face on the Buffalo Grove village board, and it made sense to talk to people like that," he said. "We talked to lots of people in the district about the race. People are very fed up with Democratic leadership in Illinois."
He said the meeting with Stone and another member of the Republican organization in Buffalo Grove was among a dozen or so conversations with people in the district to get feedback about constituents' views on such issues as tax increases.
Stone said that she was asked if she would be considering running. "Of course, I was somewhat shocked," she said. "I was obviously taken aback and was very flattered."
She said she made it clear that she could not be classified as either a liberal or a conservative. She said, for instance, she supports the right of women to choose an abortion, but in the cases of the most heinous crimes, is for the death penalty.
"I have views on both sides of the aisle," she said.
Stone said she has not made up her mind yet on whether to run. If she runs as a Republican and wins, there is a chance she could be facing off against Buffalo Grove Village President Elliott Hartstein, who has declared his interest in running as a Democrat for the seat.