Big choices to make in Tuesday's crowded congressional contests
In addition to contentious presidential primaries on both sides of the aisle, suburban voters on Tuesday are tasked with weighing in on a host of hotly contested suburban races that could determine the congressional balance of power.
Two years after Republican contests at the top of the ballot dominated primaries, suburban Democrats now have big choices to make about who will face off in November for some of the area's key congressional races.
For instance, the open seat in the Northwest suburban 8th Congressional district to replace Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth features three well-known Democratic challengers, and in the independent-voting 10th Congressional District in the North suburbs, former Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider is vying against Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering in a bid to reclaim the 10th District from Republican Bob Dold.
Here's a look at where the local primary contests for Congress are and why they matter:
8th Congressional District
Villa Park Mayor Deb Bullwinkel, attorney and businessman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, and state Sen. Michael Noland of Elgin are vying for the Democratic nomination to succeed Democrat Tammy Duckworth in the 8th District.
Noland views the Affordable Care Act as merely a step toward true universal health care provided by the federal government.
Krishnamoorthi believes Congress' focus should be on tweaking the ACA to provide coverage for the last 10 percent of Americans not currently served, including many unenrolled young people and the long unemployed.
Bullwinkel says she's not opposed to universal health care but believes the ACA can be amended to be more effective — particularly in controlling the rising cost of health care for working-class families and businesses.
DuPage County Board member Pete DiCianni is the only candidate on the Republican primary ballot.
The 8th District is roughly centered in Schaumburg and includes parts of northwest Cook, northeast DuPage and northeast Kane counties.
10th Congressional District
Democratic Party voters will choose between Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering and former U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Deerfield.
The candidates disagreed on few issues during the campaign.
They occasionally argued about the Affordable Health Care Act, with Rotering accusing Schneider of voting with Republicans to delay aspects of the controversial health care law. Schneider called that untrue, explaining the votes in question were about definitions within the law.
The candidates also differed on the Iran nuclear deal. Rotering wholeheartedly supported it, while Schneider expressed concerns about loopholes and gaps that needed to be corrected to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. He also said that, if re-elected, he would support the law's enforcement.
The winner of the Democratic primary will face incumbent Republican Robert Dold of Kenilworth in the November general election. Dold lost to Schneider in 2012 but defeated him in 2014 to win back the seat previously held by U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk for a decade for the GOP.
Rotering has said she's the candidate who can win the seat for the Democrats and hang onto it.
Historically independent, the 10th District includes parts of Cook and Lake counties. It stretches from Lake Michigan into the North and Northwest suburbs.
14th Congressional District
Three Democrats are vying for a chance to unseat incumbent Republican Randy Hultgren in what is considered one of the most GOP-leaning Congressional districts in the state. John Hosta, from Spring Grove, Jesse Maggitt from Plainfield and Jim Walz from Gurnee have contrasting stances on several issues.
The most pronounced is in the realm of health care. Walz favors a gradual transition to single-payer, universal health care. Maggitt wants to alter the excise tax slated to affect companies beginning in 2018 under the Affordable Health Care Act. He favors a tiered system tied to the size of companies and to the impact the tax would have on an individual business's operations and employees.
Hosta favors shrinking the life span of drug patents to fuel competition in the prescription drug industry. He wants to make it possible for insurance companies to compete across state borders. And he wants full disclosure of the costs of all medical services by doctors and hospitals prior to treatment.
The 14th Congressional District covers all or parts of communities in DuPage, DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, Lake and McHenry Counties.
11th Congressional District
Three candidates are vying for the Republican Party's nomination: DuPage County Board member Tonia Khouri, Naperville physicist Herman White and Darien cardiologist Nick Stella.
Khouri cited her experience on the county board and stressed that her roles as a mother and small business owner provide her with a unique perspective for tackling national issues. Regarding immigration, Khouri says she would focus on preventing people from overstaying their visas.
White is an advocate for using innovation to solve problems. Unlike his opponents, he does not support the construction of a wall on the Mexican border because he feels it sends the wrong message to the rest of the world. He believes immigration reform must be addressed in “a compassionate and humane way.”
As a physician, Stella has strong feelings about repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. He believes securing the border is a first step in immigration reform, but he also wants an audit of federal immigration services to rectify the gridlock of legal immigration.
The winner of the spring Republican primary will face incumbent Democrat Bill Foster in the November general election.
The 11th District covers parts of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties, including Aurora, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Burr Ridge and Joliet.
6th Congressional District
Both Democratic and Republican voters will pick a nominee on Tuesday for the 6th Congressional District seat.
In the traditionally Republican district, incumbent U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam of Wheaton is being challenged by Gordon “Jay” Kinzler of Glen Ellyn.
Kinzler accused Roskam of failing to push for issues important to voters in the district. For example, he criticized Roskam's support of the recently approved $1.1 trillion government spending bill, which includes funding for Planned Parenthood.
However, Roskam said that legislation resulted in “a number of conservative wins,” preserving pro-life provisions, lifting the oil export ban, and restoring funding that previously was cut from the military budgets and will help pay for more border agents.
The two Democrats competing in their primary are Amanda Howland of Lake Zurich and Robert Marshall of Burr Ridge.
The 6th District stretches from Naperville to Tower Lakes and includes parts of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties.