FeaturedWhat a great day! Democrats were sworn into office as Lake County Sheriff, Treasurer, and Clerk. Democrats were sworn in as Lake County Board Members. And there is now a Democratic Chair of the Board. Congrats to these newest officeholders and to all the people who have worked for years to turn Lake County blue!
Join us for our Tenth Dems Holiday Member Appreciation Party on Tuesday, December 11, from 6-8 pm, at Lake House, 525 Rockland Road, Lake Bluff, IL 60044. We’ll be having pizza, pop, and a salad bar.
Celebrate with us on December 11!
2018 was a great year for Democrats in our area! Our volunteers have so much to be proud about. Come celebrate the Blue Wave victories and help Tenth Dems as we talk about what we’ll do together to support and elect more Democrats. Admission is free with your 2019 paid membership, or $20 (our cost per person).
To RSVP, click tenthdems.org/memberparty, email events@tenthdems.org, or call (847) 266-VOTE (8683).
Hope to see you there!
Tenth Dems Congratulates Latest Democrats To Flip Offices From Red To Blue
Democratic Candidates Defeat Republicans in Illinois State House, Lake County Sheriff, and Lake County Board Races
Deerfield, IL — The Tenth Congressional District Democrats (Tenth Dems) congratulates four more Democrats in Lake County who won races for offices currently held by Republicans. After Election Day, all four were either trailing or slightly ahead in their respective races. Once all the votes, including vote-by-mail and provisional ballots, were counted on Tuesday at the Lake County Clerk’s Office, the Democratic candidates prevailed over their Republican opponents.
Democrat Mary Edly-Allen defeated incumbent Republican State Representative Helene Miller Walsh (51st District). Though only one vote separated the two on Election Night, Edly-Allen won by over 200 votes after all the votes were counted.
In the Lake County Sheriff’s race, Democrat John Idleburg defeated incumbent Republican Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran.
Democrats won more seats on the Lake County Board. Jessica Vealitzek (County Board District 10) and Jennifer Clark (County Board District 15) defeated Republican incumbents. Clark beat the acting chair of the Lake County Board.
“Democrats did very well in 2016 and in the municipal elections in 2017, so this year’s success continues that trend. These victories show that Democrats in the 10th District are energized, organized, and winning over voters while local Republicans prove themselves to be out of the mainstream and out of touch. There’s a clear contrast and voters are clearly siding with Democrats,” said Tenth Dems’ Founding Chair Lauren Beth Gash.
These Democratic wins cap a historic election year for Democrats in the 10th District and neighboring areas in the Chicago suburbs. Here are some highlights:
Tuesday, November 6th, was quite a night. Democrats in Illinois swept statewide offices, including the election of a Democratic governor, JB Pritzker, and a lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton. Our 10th District Congressman Brad Schneider won a landslide victory. Democrats won state legislative races against well-funded Republican opponents. The Lake County Board was flipped from red to blue….for the first time!
In neighboring congressional districts, Lauren Underwood and Sean Casten defeated incumbent Republican congressmen as Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington.
A pair of newly-elected countywide officials, Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim and Lake County Clerk Robin O’Connor, will be joined in the ranks of victorious Democrats by John Idleburg who won when late arriving ballots were counted.
Tenth Dems thanks all the candidates who put themselves out there, whether they won or lost. It’s not easy to subject yourself to scrutiny, to ask for campaign help, or to walk block after block after block to reach voters. But they stepped up and gave people the chance to vote for a really good group of Democrats at a time when the public has lost trust in Republican politicians.
People can talk about a Blue Wave. Fine. But it wasn’t inevitable and it wasn’t something that suddenly appeared the last few weeks or months. In fact, the victories in 2018 continued the trend we saw in our area in 2017 when an organized Democratic slate swept contests in Vernon Township, and right-wingers were defeated in Lake Forest and New Trier Township, among other areas. In 2016, while a lot of attention rightfully was paid to the presidential election, Democrats knocked off an incumbent Republican congressman and a Lake County officeholder, which sounds a lot like what just happened. Tenth Dems has been working for more than a decade to build the Democratic infrastructure by such things as helping allied political groups and Democratic township organizations (with funding and organizational help, for instance), and by holding “Let’s Talk Politics” discussions all over the district to bring new activists into the fold. We believe we’ve played a significant role in turning a once solidly-Republican part of Illinois into more of a blue one.
Organizing isn’t always glamorous. Sometimes it seems rather boring, other times it looks kind of chaotic. When you have committed, knowledgeable leaders and dedicated volunteers, you put yourself in the best position possible to take advantage of opportunity. You make your own luck and you get results, even when there is no wave. Tenth Dems will keep doing that as we head into 2019 municipal elections and 2020, when the next presidential election is held. And nobody will overlook what’s going on right now under this current president.
We’re so excited about the great news and glad to have played a significant role at the grassroots level in 2018. It may not be easy the next time around, but, as always, with our wonderful volunteers, we’ll be ready for the challenge.
–Tenth Dems
P.S. Think about what committee or activity you might be able to lead for Democrats as we move forward and we’ll be in touch soon.
