Endorsement: Casten for Congress from Illinois Dist. 6

This endorsement is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

Although he was not our choice among the six candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Congress from Dist. 6 in the June primary, we were intrigued with the candidacy of Keith Pekau and, when he won, we were looking forward to a reasoned, engaging faceoff between him and Democratic incumbent Sean Casten.

But since the primary, Pekau's campaign seems to have veered sharply away from the openness we sensed in June, and the Orland Park mayor has consistently failed to respond to our efforts to understand and report his positions. He also did not respond to our invitation to attend a joint interview we scheduled for him and Casten, although he did eventually submit answers to our questionnaire.

So, we are left with serious concerns about both his willingness to work cooperatively in a diverse congressional setting and his accessibility to constituents.

Fortunately, we have found that in two terms in the House, Casten, of Downers Grove, has consistently grown in stature and effectiveness. He maintains an unfailingly progressive stance on key issues, perhaps even more rigidly so than we would prefer, but he is much less apt to shoot from the hip than he was early on and more inclined to respect and welcome discussion of other views. He is articulate as well as passionate about issues including abortion rights, gun control and, with his particular expertise as the former head of an energy business, climate policy. And, he is a frequent presence in the district, having conducted more than 60 town halls in his two terms to discuss his ideas with constituents.

We would have liked to have seen more thoughtful engagement during the campaign between these two candidates, but we're confident that Casten's background and congressional experience make him well suited for a third term. He gets our endorsement.