The election is over and Illinois has a new governor. J.B. Pritzker won, according to CNN, 54.4% of the popular vote, besting his main opponent Bruce Rauner who captured 39%. In winning, Pritzker took the seat from republican Bruce Rauner. Illinois is a historically democratic state, so this victory isn't extremely surprising. Rauner's time in office was relatively uneventful, as it was difficult for him to get many things done. It was, however, successful in one sense, at least relative to past Illinois Governors. Of the last seven Illinois Governors (not including Rauner), four of them went to prison. This is not the only reason for Illinois recent reputation of a poorly run state, but it definitely contributes to the stigma. Here is a little bit of background on each of those four men: Rod Blagojevich (2002-2009) — Became first Illinois governor to be impeached. Convicted of numerous corruption charges and tried to sell Obama's senate seat. George Ryan (1999-2003) — After leaving office, was convicted of racketeering for actions as governor and secretary of state. Served 6.5 year sentence. Dan Walker (1973-1977) — Pleaded guilty to bank fraud and other charges in 1987 related to his business activities after leaving office. Otto Kerner (1961-1968) — Resigned to become judge, then was convicted of bribery related to his tenure as governor. Served three year sentence Regardless of your political beliefs, I would assume you would rather have a successful governor who is a strong leader than a convicted felon. Pritzker may have some views that you love, he may have some views that you hate, but it is important that you respect him now that he is the governor of our state. I hope that in Pritzker's time in office, he can at least bring some respect to the state and get something productive done... If not, we may be in even more trouble than we are now. Cartoon link Pritzker's Plan for America
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It's a shame that this years governor election will come down to party politics. Regardless of who you are voting for, its a shame that the results of an election are up to merely politics. The two party system in America has been around for nearly the entirety of our nation's history. Although founding fathers never had the intentions of creating a bipartisan government, but that is exactly what happened. In doing this, they unknowingly created a divided country; country where many complex issues are viewed as black and white. Despite the current political climate induced by a bipartisan system, it has proven to be effective. It unites extremely large masses of the country and bands them together under a common goal. Even though this goal tends to be a set of generalized and sometimes radical views, it is better than having a country of people who all have differing views on everything. The race for governor in Illinois is heating up, as the election happens this upcoming Tuesday. While I have never voted, I do know a few things about what goes on in election season. Here are a few pieces of advice when you consider who to vote for next Tuesday:
For more on third party candidates click here
My goodness Illinois politics SUCK. Of our last seven governors, four are convicted felons. Governors. The highest office in the state has been held, in the recent past, by a bunch of people that apparently have little respect for the position.
Otto Kerner accepted bribes related to his governor position and Dan Walker pled guilty to bank fraud after his term concluded. George Ryan was convicted of racketeering while holding the position of governor and during his term as secretary of state. The most recent convicted felon was Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of corruption charges including attempts to sell Obama’s vacated senate seat. These are all men who were voted by citizens of Illinois to hold the most prestigious office in state level politics. This is why it is more important than ever to vote on state office positions. Who we, as citizens of Illinois, vote for in this year’s gubernatorial election is extremely important. It could potentially alter the course of this state, whether it be making it better or making it worse. The candidates for this year’s election are Bruce Rauner (Republican), J.B. Pritzker (Democrat), Jeanne Ives (Republican), Chris Kennedy (Democrat), and Daniel Biss (Democrat). The front runners are J.B. Pritzker, billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel chain who is known as the fifth richest man in Illinois, and Bruce Rauner, the venture capitalist who has promised to fight corrupt, career politicians. The two main candidates are the ones that won their party’s respective primary elections: Bruce Rauner and J.B. Pritzker. Rauner is running chiefly on his belief that he can bring the change that supposedly corrupt politicians have failed to provide. Pritzker, on the other hand, argues that Rauner has not made any changes. Pritzker’s campaign has not been without controversy, though, as tapes from 2008 have surfaced showing Pritzker and then-governor discussing campaign contributions and ways to give him a statewide office. Whether you are republican or democrat, your vote matters. It is enormously important that all eligible voters participate in this election by becoming informed on each of the candidates and showing up on polling days. More information on the candidates: Pritzker Rauner Politics. Ew. Why would any high schooler in their right mind make a blog regarding the Illinois governor race? I could have chosen so many different topics. Sports are exhilarating, travel can be exotic, and everyone loves music, but those are things that people expect a high school senior to write about. I wanted to blog about something that was meaningful. Something that could potentially help my readers. I am nearly eighteen years old and quite frankly am fretting becoming an adult. Being an adult means increased responsibilities. Increased responsibilities means more stress. I am pretty much never stressed out. Not over homework, not over sports, not over friends, not even over family. I do, however, know that I will be stressed when I am faced with a new responsibility like voting. Obviously, my vote itself doesn't matter very much, but its the principle of voting that makes it such a meaningful action. Voting is immensely important in the United States of America in a variety of different scenarios. Whether you are voting for a captain on a sports team or for the president of the United States, you are being relied upon to chose someone to be a representative. The people win elections, regardless of their rank, play a huge role in the way our team, community, and nation are run. They tend to reflect many of the values held by the majority of the populous and eventually pave the way for the youth. I learned about this while I attended Illinois Boys State, a week-long camp put on by the American Legion to teach rising seniors about local and state governments. In the week that I spent there, we created a fifty-first state from the ground up. We were divided into towns, counties and political parties in order to simulate elections at each level. In doing this, I got a very real sense of the importance of local government by drafting bills and enforcing laws. I am writing about this election because I understand the value in government and the importance of citizen involvement. My goal is to not only inform my readers on the importance of voting, but get them ready to vote in their next election. Go Vote! (image)
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AuthorJake Johnsen. A high school senior attempting to educate peers on the importance of voting. |