Endorsement: Seth Lewis for House Dist. 45

Two years ago in Illinois House District 45, we endorsed Diane Pappas of Itasca over a Republican incumbent we liked, Christine Winger of Wood Dale.

It was a tough call because we liked them both, but ultimately, we were impressed by Pappas as a fresh, bright, common-sense Democrat "with a compelling personal story not only of her childhood journey from Poland to an adult life of achievement in America but also of the lessons she has learned from the challenges that confronted her as an immigrant along the way."

This year, it's another tough call.

She's running against Republican Seth Lewis, an insurance agent from Bartlett, who is making his fourth run for the Illinois General Assembly. The party turned to Lewis to make the campaign after Bartlett Trustee Mike Camerer, who won the GOP primary, died unexpectedly in June.

We endorsed Lewis two years ago when he ran against state Sen. Tom Cullerton, who won reelection but then was indicted a year ago by federal authorities on union embezzlement charges.

We liked Lewis then both because of his community involvement and also because of his mastery of the issues. He's a moderate and personable Republican and strikes us as a fundamentally decent person.

We still are impressed by those attributes.

A tough call. Ultimately, we side with Lewis because, much as we like Pappas, we're disappointed that she refrains from challenging House Speaker Michael Madigan, now being investigated himself, and seems reluctant to examine the structural public pension reform that is essential if the state is ever to bring its finances under control.

It's time to give Lewis a chance. We endorse him in the 45th District includes parts of Addison, Bartlett, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Itasca, Roselle, West Chicago and Wood Dale.