I am running for office to serve the people of the 23rd District in the Illinois Senate. The “why” of my campaign is best explained in the form of three short stories. Please let me explain.
The Gated Economy
Long before I became a lawyer, I worked my way through college in a grocery warehouse. I came home each night covered in sweat and dirt but the pay was good enough to support a middle-class lifestyle on one income. In fact, most of us viewed this as one of the best jobs around and were proud to be able to support our families by working hard.
But as the 80s unfolded so did the threats to our economic security. It started with a two-tier wage scale that locked us in to our current employer. And then we came face-to-face with the infamous corporate raider, Asher B. Edelman.
Despite our hard work and our company’s consistent profits, our jobs were threatened by Edelman’s focus on the company’s break-up value. For months, many thousands of families lived under the enormous stress of losing everything they had worked for. Fortunately, our company eventually fought off Edelman. But this story still burns in my gut.
A friend of mine—a late-40s IT professional who is now struggling to support his family with back-breaking manual labor—recently told me that he is worried that our country is sinking into a “gated economy.” This powerful metaphor reminds me of my encounter with Edelman; most of us have worked hard and played by the rules, yet many of us will still see our futures destroyed by forces entirely outside our control. And while job-destroying hedge fund managers get the royal treatment under our tax code, some Tea Party politicians want to raise taxes on struggling Americans and cut programs—like college tuition assistance—that unlock the gates to our children’s futures.
I believe that the heart and soul of this country is equal opportunity (“we hold these truths to be self-evident …”) and I am deeply worried that my friend is correct, that we are becoming a “gated economy.”
Firemen Use Water, Not Gasoline
Several years ago I left law-firm practice to put more focus on service. I took a job as a legal aid attorney at Prairie State Legal Services, which allowed me to help thousands of low-income families who were left to fend for themselves in our legal system. As the economic crisis unfolded, I saw more and more people fall from the middle class into poverty. And just as this human tragedy was unfolding before my eyes, my ability to help was increasingly undermined by diminishing resources.
Scant resources meant that there were times when I had to convey a heart-wrenching message to a desperate client: “sorry, there’s nothing I can do.” At the same time, some of our elected leaders were busy pouring gasoline on their partisan fires rather than lining up in a bucket brigade to solve problems.
Indeed, the constant parade of partisan battles over the debt ceiling and similar issues that put our entire economy at risk proves that politics-first/people last is alive and well. I am outraged over this soulless disregard for human tragedy and this outrage is what gives me the passion to fight back by running for State Senate in 2012.
Mr. Smith Beats the Machine!
When I ran for State Representative in 2010, I tried very hard to always do the right thing, not what was easy. This earned me the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune and led the Daily Herald to say that my campaign reminded them of “Mr. Smith goes to Washington.”
In this iconic film, Jimmy Stewart plays an idealistic U.S. Senator who, with an army of grassroots supporters, fights powerful insiders—and wins!
I freely admit that replicating Mr. Smith’s victory will be very difficult. But as I considered the prospect of another run in 2012, I was inspired by the army of good people who joined our cause, all of you who worked so passionately toward our goals. I firmly believe that “Mr. Smith” idealism and values, coupled with your grassroots support, offers our only real chance at beating powerful insiders and their political machines. So let’s get it started, let’s do this together!
