Endorsement: Congress, Dist. 14: Underwood

We have endorsed Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville consistently in the past, and we see no reason to shift from that support now. Because of the composition of the 14th Congressional District, which stretches from the west and southwest suburbs in Kane and Will Counties out to DeKalb, Sycamore and Hennepin, the race may be somewhat closer than it should be.

But make no mistake about it. Underwood clearly is the strongest of the two candidates — by a wide margin — and we endorse her without equivocation.

Sharp, personable, thoughtful, passionate and gaining in experience, Underwood is an effective representative in a Congress that so often seems ineffective. A nurse by training, she was instrumental in writing the Health Care Affordability Act and has worked to ensure that there is mental health care in our schools and to reduce the cost of insulin for senior citizens. While her opponent views economic issues simplistically, Underwood understands how complex the causes of post-pandemic global inflation have been and has done her part to combat it here and to provide real help to those most affected by it.

Her opponent, James Marter, a member of the library board in Oswego, is a former chair of the Kendall County Republican Party. He is pleasant enough and without question, relentless; this is his fifth run for a seat in one House or another in Congress. But his views are not just extreme; they frequently also are disconnected from reality. In our interview with him, he disputed the idea that Donald Trump had any role in killing this year's bipartisan immigration bill. In our questionnaire, he complained that the economy was beset by job losses and market crashes when both jobs and Wall Street have shown remarkable growth. He warns against election fraud that is “historically rampant,” but when asked to cite evidence to support the claim, he offers only isolated anecdotes, age-old stereotypes and outright misinformation that even the slightest research debunks.

Underwood has been a good representative with great skills and aptitude. Still only 38, her future seems limitless. She deserves re-election.