Endorsement: Schneider for Cook County Board

The race for the Cook County Board's 15th District seat offers voters two sharply contrasting choices. On the GOP side is three-term incumbent Tim Schneider of Bartlett, a 62-year-old veteran of Northwest suburban politics and chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. Vying for his seat is Democrat Kevin Morrison, a 28-year-old political newcomer from Elk Grove Village. We don't hold Morrison's lack of experience against him - he's a serious candidate, well-versed in the problems facing the county and thoughtful about potential solutions. We're more concerned about the substantial support he's taken from the Cook County Democratic Party and its leader, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Morrison insists he wouldn't be a rubber stamp for Preckwinkle, and while we don't doubt his sincerity, we know Schneider has a record of standing up for the interests of the suburbs against the board's majority, notably in his opposition to the 2008 sales tax hike and last year's failed "soda tax." We endorse Schneider.