Choices abound this election season

I notice that the Daily Herald has begun to present informative articles about candidates for some of the many elected positions to be filled in the Nov. 2 election. In the long months since the February primary, many of us are suffering irritation and fatigue from the constant coverage of just two of the four candidates for governor and two of the four candidates for the U.S. Senate.

Thanks for the useful article about Rich Whitney, the Green candidate for Governor. Citizens who dismiss the minority party candidates as sure losers forget that an important reason for keeping our system open is that even those who lose last year's or another year's election may have some of the best ideas, which should be heard.

I live in DuPage County, and I notice that voters could be surprised to find that we have a lot of contested elections this year some real choices instead of just having to endorse or not endorse the familiar faces. All the way down on the bottom of the ballot, we can vote this year to change the culture of the forest preserve board with a new president, and in three districts a better candidate for our own district's position.

And how about more reporting on issues rather than forecasts and hype? It's not really useful to have the talents of journalists absorbed in reporting weekly polls or the content of advertisements. How about the substance of the regional economics around public transportation; or the problem of flooding in the counties, where we need county, municipality, park district and forest preserve to work together on water management? Engineers and horticulturists might be able to teach us better to evaluate the approaches of politicians to the problems we share in daily life.

Edna E. Heatherington

Glen Ellyn