Endorsement: Janor for Illinois House in 41st District

This endorsement is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

In an unassuming book called "We Not Us: In Sports, Business and Life" that Naperville Park Commissioner Rich Janor co-authored with Shelby Bobosky two years ago, they tried to chart out "a path of unity over divisiveness."

"Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum," they wrote, "haven't you had enough of the toxic rhetoric? Don't you want to see our nation's leaders focus on our children's futures rather than on attacking one another? It's time to change the way we think, from 'What's in it for me?' to 'How do I make things better for all of us?'"

Now a candidate for the Illinois House in the newly drawn 41st District that takes in parts of Bolingbrook, Naperville and Warrenville, Janor faces the challenge of living up to his message in the heat of a tough political campaign.

At that, he is less than perfect in threading that needle. We wish he would better eschew the attack politics. That said, we are pleased by the general tone of the Republican's energetic campaign - built primarily on a public safety platform that gives the bulk of its attention to opposition to the controversial SAFE-T Act and support to law enforcement.

The views he has expressed to us are conservative but in keeping with responsible Republican traditions.

His opponent, State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, a former school board member in Naperville Unit District 203, upset then-incumbent Grant Wehrli two years ago by a slim margin.

She has had a respectable, if cautious, first term, but one in which she has done little to distinguish herself. She sponsored legislation to require that contact information for suicide prevention hotlines be included on student IDs and to protect opioid overdose victims seeking medical help from being charged with possession. Beyond that, she has been a sure vote for whatever legislation the Democratic Party wants to pass.

We like the common sense values that Janor for the most part promises to bring to Springfield as well as his lengthy involvement in the community.

Mostly, we like his quest to work toward unity over divisiveness. It is an ambitious and sorely needed goal. Some may call it naive, and whatever the case, it is a goal easier set than achieved. We wish him well in his quest for it, and in doing so, encourage him to remember that it can be achieved only if he is singularly resolute in pursuing it.

Can he make a dent? We offer our endorsement for him to try.