2024 Democratic Primary Recommendations

Hello!!

It's election season again! 

And there are some critical questions on the primary ballot. 

I'll put all my other recommendations at the bottom, as well as resources if you need to register to vote, want to see your own sample ballot, etc. 

Also, if you can sacrifice a few precious hours of your time on election day (March 19), we need everyone who wants the city to do something to address homelessness to volunteer for a shift, the first and especially last shifts of the day are most important. You can sign up here.  Can't join us on Tuesday? Help us reach voters this weekend. Many people still don't know about the Bring Chicago Home campaign. 

Vote YES on The Bring Chicago Home (aka Ballot Question 1) ballot referendum to amend the Real Estate Transfer Tax

This is our opportunity to change a one-time tax, that already exists, to make it more fair AND generate over $100 million in funding every year dedicated to combatting homelessness. I can't bear to raise my children in a city that leaves 68,000 people homeless every year, including 17,000 children. By VOTING YES on this ballot question to amend the real estate transfer tax, we can start turning the tide in Chicago and end homelessness for thousands of families. 

This will be on the back side of your vote-by-mail ballot and at the very end of your digital ballot at polling places. 

The real estate industry has tried to lie and confuse voters and to prevent our votes from being counted on this issue. To correct the record it is NOT a property tax. It IS on the ballot. It will require people or corporations who have the wealth to purchase properties over $1million to pay a little bit more in taxes and it will lower the tax for those buying properties under $1million. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out. I've been working on this campaign for 6 years since it began. I deeply believe in what we can accomplish with this campaign. It took us two city council elections to have a mayor and city council who were willing to let the voters decide if the city should amend the real estate transfer tax in order to fund homelessness prevention. Let's VOTE YES to help end homelessness!

The Girl, I guess voter guide did a good write up on this as well. 

Vote for Clayton Harris III for Cook County State's Attorney. 

My friend and colleague Will Tanzman, the Exec. Dir. of The People's Lobby, sent a great summary so I'll just quote him here: 

"This year’s Cook County State’s Attorney’s election is an incredibly important election, and right now it is on a razor’s edge. In a recent poll, Clayton Harris and Eileen O’Neill Burke were neck and neck at 21% each, with 58% undecided. However, Burke has outraised Harris by more than 2-1, in part by taking huge amounts of money from Vallas donors, corporate CEOs, and executives from companies like Ken Griffin’s Citadel. Stephanie Skora’s “Girl, I Guess” voter guide has a great and more detailed writeup on this race.

First, this is an attempt at an “Empire Strikes Back” moment from a key segment of the city’s corporate elite, who see this race as an opportunity to elect someone who will represent their voice and interests in a moment when they are still smarting from their losses in 2023. Second, it is also a huge threat to the progress we’ve made in criminal justice reform over the past decade. Burke is making commitments to roll back key steps forward in criminal legal system reforms. She has said she will undo Kim Foxx’s policy of prosecuting retail theft under $1,000 as a misdemeanor rather than a felony. She will significantly expand the set of cases in which prosecutors will push for people to be jailed while waiting for trial (and thus presumed innocent), which will reduce the effectiveness of the Pretrial Fairness Act in reducing incarceration. And FOP President John Catanzara just endorsed Burke and asked Republican FOP members to pull Democratic ballots to vote for her. 

By contrast, Clayton Harris is running with a clear commitment to continuing the reform policies that have led to significant reductions in incarceration. He will continue the current policy on retail theft, which is a useful bellwether for a broader orientation to using the discretion of the prosecutor’s office to prosecute, selectively rather than always bringing the highest possible charge. He talks about the need to address root causes. He will continue to use discretion in determining when to seek pretrial incarceration. And he is supported by Toni Preckwinkle, Robert Peters, the Chicago Teachers Union, SEIU Healthcare, The People’s Lobby, Citizen Action Illinois, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and a broad range of other players that have worked hard for criminal justice reform, decarceration, and the end of money bail."

Other recommendations for theDemocratic ballot I vote on in Edgewater:

• #61 - Mike Simmons for state senator
• #71 - Kelly Cassidy for state rep
• #81 - Waller, #82 - Steele, & #84 - Pogorzelski for Water Reclamation District
• #92 - Mariyana Spyropoulos for clerk of the circuit court
• #93 - Clayton Harris for State's Attorney
• #121 - Joy Cunningham for Supreme Court
• #132 - Cynthia Cobbs
• #134 - Celia Louise Gamrath
• #141 - Pablo deCastro
• #147 - Neil Cohen
• #150 - Edward Underhill
• #151 - Debjani Desai
• #164 - Nadine Wichern for 20th subcircuit judge
• #171 - Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth for Dem Committeeperson
• YES - Public Question re: should the city of chicago impose a real estate transfer tax decrease of 20%... for the purpose of addressing homelessness...?
• I left uncontested races off this list of recommendations for the most part. 

Resources:

• Injustice Watch (who helps research judges)
• Girl I guess voter guide
• Information about same day voter registration, early voting, how to see your sample ballot, etc that my organization compiled

Let me know if you have questions! And please, please get out and vote!

Hannah