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Endorsement: Schakowsky clear choice in 9th Congressional District

Seldom has the choice for an endorsement been as obvious as it is this year in the race for the U.S. House from the 9th Congressional District. We endorse Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston for an 8th term.

This is not because we view Schakowsky as the perfect candidate. She is not.

But there is no credible opposition to consider. The Republican Susanne Atanus of Niles is well meaning but untenable. She declined to talk with us this fall because of the paper's reporting last spring of her remarks attributing severe weather to God's wrath over same-sex marriage and abortion. She also has declined the GOP's urging for her to drop off the ticket. Two write-in candidates also are running — David Earl Williams III of Chicago, who we declined to endorse in the Republican primary; and Libertyville Township Trustee Phil Collins, who is an option only as a protest vote because he has no real chance of winning.

While we've endorsed Schakowsky in the past, we've also offered our share of criticism. We've viewed her as passionate, able and hardworking but also partisan and more liberal than most of the suburban voters in her district.

We have been pleased, however, with signs in the past two years that she recognizes that the bitter acrimony in Congress is harmful to the country. Where once her voting record revealed her as one of the most partisan Democrats in Congress, The Washington Post Congressional Votes Database shows she has become considerably more willing in recent years to break with her party.

We're impressed also that she has reached out to the large patches of new territory in this decade's 9th District, which takes in the tip of Chicago and much of the North Shore, then swings out to the Northwest suburbs to parts of Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights and Rolling Meadows.

9th District U.S. Representative Atanus: Candidate Profile

9th District U.S. Representative Schakowsky: Candidate Profile

No endorsement in 9th Congress, GOP

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