Endorsement: Quigley for Congress Dist. 5

Voters in the 5th Congressional District will get a blast of déjà vu when they mark their ballots this year. That’s because the candidates in that race — incumbent Mike Quigley and perennial challenger Tommy Hanson — will face off for the fourth time.

Quigley, a Democrat, easily defeated his Republican rival in 2018, 2020 and 2022. And we expect that to be the case again on Nov. 5.

The contrast between the two men is stark, and the choice for District 5 voters is clear: Quigley is a congressman who has served his district — and his nation — well. He should retain the seat he has held since 2009.

In past endorsements, we have hailed Quigley as a pragmatist, an effective voice for Illinois and a strong advocate for social issues. His service on the House Committee on Appropriations and as the ranking member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee is important to note. And he has pushed for greater transparency in the federal government, including legislation that would require the United States Supreme Court to develop a code of ethics and strengthen the standards for recusal.

Quigley has the experience, expertise and level head needed at a time when the United States faces serious challenges at home and complex conflicts abroad.

Hanson, on the other hand, has taken some troubling and dangerous positions over the years. He claimed in 2022 that police at the Capitol on Jan. 6 were coached “to make it appear that the Capitol was under siege.” More recently, his wife accepted help in her failed 2023 mayoral bid in Tennessee from white supremacists, though Hanson claimed they would “have never knowingly associated” with Nazis.

His MAGA views — even pledging at one point to bring the “red state politics” of Florida and Texas to Illinois — are out of step with his district, which sweeps across parts of Chicago and a number of Northwest suburbs.

Quigley gets our strong endorsement.