Proposal supports third-party runs

In response to the Daily Herald’s editorial on May 8 titled “Fortner bill would restrain independent candidacies,” we felt it would be prudent to address the concerns brought forward by the editorial staff and clarify what specifically the bill does.

The legislation they are referring to is House Bill 2009, which passed the House with 75 votes and is being discussed in the Senate.

By no means would this measure hinder the chances of an independent candidate from winning an elected office. It is already against Illinois law for a candidate who loses a primary to then run for the same office as an independent, and this bill doesn’t change that. In other ways, this bill could increase the chances of success of a potential independent candidate.

An independent candidate’s largest obstacle when facing major party candidates is his or her lack of resources. This is further hindered by the countless court challenges on their eligibility to be on the ballot. By clarifying the law, we would be putting an end to the needless legal fees and free up time for independent candidates to spread their message rather than defend themselves.

The measure simply prohibits a person who files a statement of candidacy for a partisan office of an established political party or who voted the ballot of an established political party in any given primary election from filing for a different party only within that election cycle; however, any party participation in previous election cycles would not exclude them from participating in any party moving forward.

We are very thankful the Daily Herald has opened up the debate on this issue. Both of us are looking forward to working with our colleagues to see the passage of this legislation and bring a clearer election code to Illinois.

State Sen. Mike Fortner

95th District

State Sen. Sid Mathias

53rd District