Politicians running for Illinois office stressed the importance of getting out the vote at a forum for Democratic candidates Oct. 7 in Skokie sponsored by Asian-American groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bottom line is: It’s going to be a very tight election, and every vote is going to matter,\u201d said Sheila Simon, a candidate for lieutenant governor. \u201dEvery person in this room is going to cast a significant vote in this election. This is going to help the Democratic Party from the top of the ballot to the bottom,\u201d<\/p>\n
Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart, who is running for re-election, also echoed the sentiment. \u201cAll of us are anxious; there is a sense of apathy with some people. All the Republicans are very excited because they think that Democrats are not going to come out and vote.\u201d Dart also is considered a possible candidate for Mayor of Chicago.<\/p>\n
Other candidates at the forum were Toni Preckwinkle, running for Cook County board president; David Miller, up for Illinois comptroller, and Joe Berrios, who is running for Cook County assessor.<\/p>\n
Candidates and political leaders who addressed the crowd of approximately 200 people voiced support for equal educational opportunities, job creation and fair taxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know someone looking for a job in the middle of national economic crises,\u201d said Simon. \u201cFor me as a governor, the more educated we are as a state, the better jobs that we bring to the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asian-American voters are a significant force in Illinois politics, said political activist Sadruddin Noorani<\/p>\n
\u201cAsian voters are a very important segment to win over,\u201d he said, \u201cas there are over one million Asian-Americans living in Illinois.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a 2008 study by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, 8.6 percent of all adult citizens in Illinois are foreign-born. Since 2000 the number of foreign-born citizens has grown 30 percent, to 754,674.<\/p>\n
Of more than 8 million registered voters in Illinois, the study indicates, 6.9 percent are of Latino heritage and 1.7 percent are Asian-American. Asian-Americans represent at least 3 percent of registered voters in 14 of 59 Illinois Senate districts. In 2006 and 2008, immigrant votes provided a margin of victory in several closely contested Congressional races. <\/p>\n
According to an exit poll taken after the 2008 election, an overwhelming number of immigrants supported the Democratic party. Approximately 90 percent of Latinos and 82 percent of the Asian-American voters supported Barack Obama, according to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. <\/p>\n
As was clear at Thursday’s forum, jobs, housing, taxes, education and immigration reform are the top concerns for the Asian community during this election season. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe issues are not just Asian that concern Asian-Americans,\u201d said Lourdes Mon, former chairwoman of the Asian American Coalition of Chicago. \u201cThe issues are what everybody is concerned about \u2013 jobs, taxes \u2013 because a lot of people who have been doing well have really lost a lot of their investments for the past year or so. Everyone is hurting.\u201d <\/p>\n
At least two audience members were left wanting more at the end of the three-hour forum organized by the Korean-American Democratic Committee of Illinois and the Asian American Coalition. <\/p>\n
John Kim, 31, of Evanston said, \u201cI came to learn why I have to vote for the candidates but felt that the speeches were very generic. [I] didn’t find a compelling reason to vote for the candidates. I was a little disappointed by what they said.\u201d Other attendees said the forum, which included more than a dozen speakers, was disorganized. <\/p>\n
Though Gov. Pat Quinn and Alexi Giannoulias, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Illinois, tentatively agreed to attend, they were no shows.<\/p>\n