You can help shape the debate in key issues Tuesday
Everything from state tax increases to national health care policy could hinge on Tuesday's results in one of the most anticipated and bitterly contested state primaries in recent history.
A rare, open U.S. Senate seat combined with divisive politics in the race for governor have yielded multimillion dollar campaigns and numerous debates in the race to sway voter opinion.
In the final days of often-bitter campaigns, candidates are turning to retail politics and get-out-the-vote efforts, dashing from union halls and business luncheons to train stations and grocery stores - anywhere they can glad-hand the undecided and rally their strongest supporters.
For Gov. Pat Quinn, it might come down to whether Democrats like what they have seen from him in his first year after taking over following the ouster of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to warrant sending him up for a full four years.
Three-term state Comptroller Dan Hynes of Chicago is questioning Quinn's leadership. Both are proposing tax increases to help solve the state's massive $13 billion budget deficit that threatens vital services.
Republicans are hoping their party's nominee to emerge from a six-candidate field will ultimately bring an end to nearly a decade of Democrat dominance in the state.
All GOP candidates are offering voters a stark contrast from the two Democrats, saying they can solve the state's budget problems without raising taxes, claiming to have the political resolve to slash billions in government spending.
Former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan is reprising his governor campaign from 2002 against Blagojevich, while former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna is portraying himself as an outsider. State Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale is trying to capitalize on his backing from former Gov. Jim Edgar and state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington is hoping to mobilize downstate conservative voters. Hinsdale businessman Adam Andrzejewski and Chicago public relations agent Dan Proft are counting on a conservative grass-roots movement to back them in their first runs for public office.
At the top of voters' ballots will be the U.S. Senate race, one increasingly in the national spotlight as Republicans, fresh off key victories out East, are eyeing the Illinois seat.
This particular Senate seat is no stranger to the spotlight. Barack Obama occupied it until being elected president. The power of picking a replacement fell to then-Gov. Blagojevich, who was quickly arrested on federal corruption charges for trying to auction it off to the highest bidder. Before being kicked out of office by state lawmakers, Blagojevich appointed Democrat Roland Burris, who is not running for election.
Democrats have a heated field of five candidates. Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias comes into the race with strong union and establishment support, but former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman has been attacking his credibility and claiming he is a true reformer. Former Chicago Urban League President, and former Blagojevich spokeswoman, Cheryle Jackson argues she best understands the needs of the struggling. Burr Ridge radiologist Robert Marshall, who has run before as a Republican, tells voters he would end the wars.
Chicago attorney Jacob Meister announced late Saturday night that he was dropping out to endorse Giannoulias. Meister's name will still appear on the ballot, but the votes won't count.
On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk of Highland Park has landed the backing of most of the establishment GOP, but his challengers argue he lacks core conservative positions against gun control and abortion rights. Candidates hoping to ride a conservative wave into the general election include Hinsdale real estate developer Pat Hughes, retired downstate judge Don Lowery, Springfield activist Kathleen Thomas, former Harvey Alderman John Arrington and Chicago blogger Andy Martin.
On the campaign trail over the weekend, Gov. Quinn hosted a rally with Teamsters and other unions in downtown Chicago Saturday while Hynes hit restaurants and stores on Chicago's North Side.
Dillard suspended his campaign stops late Saturday night upon learning of the death of his 82-year-old father, Edward F. Dillard, a veteran suburban teacher and baseball coach.
And in the Senate race, Hoffman attended a rally with the Democratic Women of DuPage County. McKenna did dinner with Barrington area Republicans. Kirk hit a banquet hall in Elmhurst. The mad-dash pace for candidates will continue until the polls close Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Aside from picking favorites for governor, voters also will narrow the field in statewide races for lieutenant governor, comptroller and treasurer. Primary contests in suburban state House and Senate districts also could shape the balance of power in those chambers after November. And primaries in key congressional seats covering parts of Cook, Lake, McHenry and DuPage counties will set the stage for national attention in the general election. Although election officials and political observers are predicting low turnout on Tuesday, the results are eagerly anticipated as an early gauge of voter sentiment in a year likely to be filled with key decisions on weighty issues such as taxes and health care
The nine-month countdown to the Nov. 2 elections begins Wednesday.