By Jeanine Chyna
I am new to Tenth Dems and have not attended many political luncheons the size of Jan Schakowsky’s Power Lunch.
I signed up for this year’s after coming across an invitation to the event on the Tenth Dems Facebook page, including an offer to sit at a table with Lauren Beth Gash. As someone who usually has the only Democratic yard sign in my entire neighborhood, I figured it would be a chance to hear some interesting speeches and sit among like-minded women.
What I was unprepared for (wait, that was Lisa Madigan I just shook hands with?) were the prominent speakers and attendees sitting in the audience alongside fellow Democrats, all united with the common goal of winning in November (hello Raja [Krishnamoorthi], nice to meet you!).
We are fortunate to have so many qualified Democratic candidates (Brad [Schneider], the seat is ours again in November) in the 10th (Mayor Nancy [Rotering], I enjoyed your speech at the Tenth Dems Lake Forest College forum), so it was eye-opening to hear from congressional candidates from Las Vegas, Ann Arbor, and Iowa about the challenges they face in their districts (Josina [Morita]and Kim [Foxx] – I recognize you from your campaign literature in the Tenth Dems office).
When Congresswoman Jan spoke about the chills she felt when imagining the Supreme Court once Hillary is President (I’d recognize Treasurer Mike [Frerichs] anywhere), I also felt a chill as I thought about a Court that would rule on issues that would affect my children’s children (hey, that’s Toni [Preckwinkle] at the next table).
Also sitting at our table was Jeanne, a recent Facebook friend I hadn’t yet met in person and Corrine [Pierog], an Illinois State Senate candidate from St. Charles running against the dairy magnate.
Oh, and Hillary Clinton spoke, too—well, via video, but still….
I hope you’ll consider joining the Tenth Dems at future events. You never know who you may meet!