Endorsement: Daily Herald backs Quigley over Hanson in 5th Congressional District

Mike Quigley refers to himself as a centrist Democrat. He is, but we'd also call him a pragmatic Democrat, one who - like Republican Mark Kirk before him - believes that anything meaningful gets done in the middle.

He's long been the representative from the 5th Congressional District, which includes parts of Chicago and some Cook and DuPage County suburbs. Now, with a real possibility that the House will narrowly go Democratic this November, his profile is apt to rise.

Quigley is on two key panels, the House Intelligence Committee and the House Appropriations Committee, and if the Democrats take the House he's likely to become chairman of one of the Appropriations subcommittees. That Quigley is in this position is good for the Chicago area, Illinois and the nation. He'll be good for the Chicago area and Illinois because, frankly, he can bring money home for important projects.

He's good for the nation, because he believes that supporting important projects elsewhere is as vital as backing projects in northeast Illinois. It was Quigley who essentially convinced colleagues to allocate $380 million in federal money and technical assistance to help states secure their election systems against cyber warfare. Election systems in more than 40 states were breached by Russian hackers in 2016, and Illinois was the first.

"I'm there to get something done," Quigley says. "The best way to do that is to help other people."

He is a strong supporter of reopening the Congressional investigation into Russian hacking, and has what we consider sensible positions on guns, human rights, global warming and the Mueller investigation.

His Republican opponent is Tom Hanson, a commercial real estate broker who is unsupportive of the Robert Mueller investigation.

We endorse Quigley.