Endorsement: Feldman in Illinois House 59
Democrat Carol Sente is leaving the Illinois House after 10 years, opening the door for contested races for both the Democrats and Republicans in District 59, which stretches from Wheeling to Waukegan's southern edge. Competing in the GOP race in the March 20 primary are Lincolnshire Trustee Karen Feldman, a real estate agent, and University of Illinois senior Marko Sukovic of Lincolnshire, who has worked in Illinois on the campaigns of former presidential contender Marco Rubio of Florida and former U.S. Rep. Bob Dold of Kenilworth. Feldman and Sukovic agree on some issues - they favor term limits, bash Democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and say lawmakers shouldn't be paid if the legislature fails to pass a balanced budget. But they diverge in other areas, with Sukovic decidedly further to the right. Intense and well-informed, he helped found the campus group Turning Point USA. He left in 2015, but says he supports its Professor Watch List, which publishes photos and names of professors it believes "discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom." Such divisiveness is not what Illinois government needs. We endorse Feldman, who is a closer match for the moderate preferences expressed over the past decade by voters in the 59th District. Her experience representing suburban interests make her a solid choice for the Republican nomination.