Challengers seek to liberalize Third Congressional District; four in race 

By Gail Mansfield 
 

Four candidates are competing in the Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District. The seat currently is held by Democrat Daniel Lipinski.

            Jerry Bennett, the mayor of  Palos Hills and president of Bennett Dental Labs Inc., said the Iraq war and the economy are the two most important issues to his platform. “I’m for an immediate withdrawal of troops,” he said. “With almost $1.7 trillion spent on this war, we need to reprioritize and reinvest in the cities and villages of this country. With my experience, I believe I could have some success with that reinvestment in communities.”

            Bennett also supports increasing the minimum wage, safeguarding corporate pension plans, repealing President George Bush's tax cuts that disproportionately benefit richer Americans, doubling the Community Block Grant funding formula for cities, restoring funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, addressing healthcare pricing disparities for uninsured patients and insurance companies, reforming the Medicare prescription benefit, providing access to group health plans for small businesses and small employers, and improving domestic security and the use of Homeland Security resources.

            Besides serving as Palos Hills's mayor for 27 years, Bennett is cofounder and has served as president of the Southwest Conference of Mayors for the last 23 years. He is a past president of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and recently was elected president of the Illinois Municipal League.

            Bennett said he has “ten times the experience and years in government of all my opponents combined” and added, “I think that’s a problem in this country—people going to Washington and not understanding the roots of who they’re representing. I think I bring that understanding and experience.”

            Jim Capparelli, an attorney and lieutenant colonel with 20 years’ service in the U.S. Army, lives in Chicago's Garfield Ridge community. He identifies “working men and women and the Iraq war” as his key issues.

            “With the downfall of the unions, we witnessed a downfall in our economy,” Capparelli said, adding that the decline in union power has “had a negative effect on healthcare" access.  He believes employers of 50 or more people should be mandated to provide health insurance for their employees, and he argues for tax incentives to encourage smaller employers to do the same.

“Unlike the other candidates, I clearly have the experience and the credentials to talk intelligently about the war,” added Capparelli. “There are not easy answers to complex problems—that’s what got us into Iraq to begin with. We need to listen to our ground commanders to know what needs to be done.”

Battalion commander of the 13th PSYOP Battalion in Arden, MN, Capparelli said, “I want soldiers home. But my soldiers also understand that we serve this country.”

            Capparelli’s other positions include enforcing current immigration laws, fully funding the Veterans Administration, requiring judicial review of search warrants, increasing replacement funding for National Guard equipment sent overseas, sending unresolved labor contracts to binding arbitration after six months, and lowering the interest rate to protect families from losing their houses.

“We must balance our economic and energy interest with that of global warming concerns,” he said, advocating for alternate energy such as nuclear energy and for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

            Incumbent Daniel Lipinski lives in Western Springs and has held the seat since 2004. From 2000 to 2004, he was a faculty member at the University of Tennessee and University of Notre Dame. Prior to that, he served for six months on then-Congressman Rod Blagojevich’s staff. Lipinski also has completed  volunteer stints and internships of one to several months with a variety of political organizations and individuals, including his father and predecessor in the 3rd District Congressional seat, William Lipinski.

            Spokesperson Matthew Mayer described Lipinski as “a defender of American jobs” and said Lipinski’s top priorities include “supporting working families, ending the war in Iraq and supporting our troops, and protecting our environment.”

            Mayer described Lipinski’s agenda for working families as “restoring economic opportunity, combating stagnant wages, increasing job security, making healthcare more affordable, protecting worker pensions, and putting an end to unfair policies that routinely shutter plants and send American jobs overseas.”

            Lipinski has voted several times to increase Iraq war funding without a timeline for withdrawal, but Mayer said Lipinski’s more recent vote for a House resolution that would reduce troops by this spring has “established a voting record in Congress with the House Democrats,” adding that Lipinski has voted against establishing permanent bases in Iraq, for requiring more time at home for troops between Iraq tours of duty, and for increasing accountability among private contractors in Iraq.

            Mayer said Lipinski’s commitment to protecting the environment is illustrated by his authorship of two provisions in the recently passed energy bill: one requiring federal office buildings to use energy-efficient light bulbs and another promoting the development of hydrogen as a clean energy source.

            Mark Pera, an assistant Cook County State’s Attorney for the past ten years, has supervised the office’s environment and energy division, where he prosecuted major polluters. He has been president of the Lyons Township High School Board of Education since 2001.

            Pera, who like Lipinski lives in Western Springs, said his top three priorities are ending the war in Iraq, improving accessibility to healthcare, and changing America’s environment and energy policies.

            “Our men and women in uniform have met their responsibilities with honor and distinction, but by any measure or standard, the strategy for this war has been a failure and it’s time to end it,” commented Pera. He said Congress should “stand up to President Bush, bring our troops home within one year, and cap funding to make it happen.”

            Pera, who has criticized Lipinski’s vote to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and the congressman’s acceptance of contributions from energy companies, advocates aggressive development of alternate forms of energy.

            Regarding healthcare, Pera commented, “It’s criminal for Congress to allow the insurance industry and pharmaceutical giants to determine healthcare policy while millions of Americans lose their homes or have their checkbooks emptied because of the high cost of healthcare. Every American should receive the same complete, quality care enjoyed by members of Congress and their families.”

            Pera also emphasized his pro-choice position, noting that Lipinski opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest, and said that, unlike the incumbent, he supports federally funded embryonic stem cell research.

            Lipinski's opponents, particularly Pera and Bennett, are hitting Lipinski hard over his consistent support of President George W. Bush. Lipinski has voted with Bush and the GOP to continue funding the war in Iraq, oppose stem-cell research, and support oil companies. In addition, on the stump opponents also are criticizing the fact that Lipinski's father is a lobbyist for the transportation industry, which Lipinski is supposed to oversee on the House transportation committee.

 

Correction

An article in the January Gazette incorrectly reported that lobbyist William Lipinski and Congressman Dan Lipinski share office space at 6245 S. Archer Ave. The address should have been listed as 5838 S. Archer Ave., a location where Congressman Lipinski has had a campaign office. The office at 6245 S. Archer Ave. is Dan Lipinski’s Congressional office.