Biden coming to Vernon Hills next week to stump for Schneider
Vice President Joe Biden will visit Vernon Hills next week to promote early voting and stump for U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider's re-election bid.
Biden will appear at the Sullivan Community Center, 635 N. Aspen Drive, on Oct. 22. Doors for the event will open at 1 p.m., according to a news release.
The venue is in the 10th Congressional District, where Schneider, a freshman lawmaker from Deerfield, is facing a tough challenge from former U.S. Rep. Robert Dold, a Kenilworth Republican. It's a rematch of the 2012 congressional race, which saw Schneider unseat Dold by a narrow margin.
Officially, Biden will make the suburban stop to encourage voters to cast ballots early.
But the only political candidates set to appear alongside him are Democrats running for office this fall. And tickets for the event are available at Schneider's campaign website, schneiderforcongress.com.
"We're thrilled to have the vice president come campaign with Brad and touch on what's at stake this election," Schneider spokeswoman Staci McCabe said.
The Sullivan Center was chosen for the rally because it's large enough to hold a crowd and because Vernon Hills is in heart of the 10th District, McCabe said.
Also set to appear are U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and lieutenant governor candidate Paul Vallas. Both are Democrats running in the Nov. 4 election.
Durbin, of Springfield, is facing a challenge from Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove.
Vallas is running with Gov. Pat Quinn. They're facing Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Rauner and running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti.
Dold campaign spokeswoman Danielle Hagen said she wasn't surprised Biden and Durbin are coming to stump for Schneider. She called the visit "an attempt to save their hyperpartisan, rubber stamp politician."
No GOP heavy hitters are scheduled to come to the suburbs to campaign for Dold, Hagen said.
Hagen said her candidate is spending time listening to voters rather than "with party bosses."
Dold was scheduled to visit a Gurnee manufacturing company Wednesday.
Rauner's campaign said the vice president's visit - and similar stops by President Barack Obama - are signs Quinn is weak.
"I've never seen the national Democratic Party scramble quite like this," Rauner campaign manager Chip Englander said in a fundraising email to supporters and the media. "Pat Quinn's on the ropes and he's hoping Barack Obama and Joe Biden can save him from going down."