Tength Congressional District Democrats

Republican Rep. Bob Dold Can’t Win Without Trump Voters

Waukegan, IL – National Republicans support Rep. Bob Dold (IL-10) because he’s been with them for decades, going back to his time spinning political messages for Dan Quayle and “investigating” the Clintons for House Republicans in the 1990s. The same national Republicans who count on Bob Dold to vote them into leadership are warming up to Donald Trump because they need his voters to push their right-wing agenda.Trump

Similarly, while Dold puts on a show for the cameras about how he can’t possibly support Donald Trump in the fall, he too needs Trump voters to win. Dold’s Republican base, like the GOP base at large, is strongly behind Trump. Here is how he did with Republican primary voters in the 10th District:

• Trump received the most votes in the Republican primary in the 10th District.
• Trump won a majority of townships in the 10th District.
• Trump won over 60% of the precincts in the 10th District.

Trump’s message might work in the Republican primary but it’s toxic in a 10th District general election. Dold, a career GOP operative, knows this. But while Double Talk Dold objects publicly, privately he’s counting on Trump-Dold Republican voters to provide the bulk of his support.

Dold, like his right-wing allies in Washington, needs Donald Trump supporters to win. But there is no way the people of the 10th District will choose to be represented by that coalition. This fall they are going to reject Republicans Donald Trump and Bob Dold.

by Adrienne Kirshbaum

What would you say if you were asked to write about “Justice,” about what the word means to you and how it has impacted your life?  That was the assignment given to the more than 200 high school students who entered Tenth Dems Community Connection’s 6^th Annual Poetry and Prose Competition.  And on Thursday evening, April 21, at the Ramada Inn Waukegan/Gurnee, a sizable audience made up of family, friends, and members of the community were privileged to hear readings of original poems and essays by a dozen or so of these bright, sensitive students.

Competition participants attend Waukegan, North Chicago, Zion-Benton, and Cristo Rey St. Martin de Porres high schools.  They are freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.  They wrote about their own lives, the lives of others, things they’d seen, historical events, and events they’d only imagined.  Their writings revealed a social conscience and sophistication far beyond their years.

A panel of published authors judged the entries blind i.e., stripped of author identifiers.  There were separate competitions for poetry and prose, with first, second, and third place prizewinners in each category awarded $150, $100, and $50, respectively.  Prizewinners also received framed certificates, as did six students who earned honorable mentions, three in each categories.  At Awards Night, all participants also received a book bag and water bottle.

The evening’s emcees, Dulce Ortiz and Hon. Marc Jones, invited the young authors to the podium to read their works.  Both were so warm and friendly that even some of the students who at first were reluctant to read to the audience were won over and decided to take part.  In a decorated with flowers, banners, and famous quotations about “justice,” these young people stood at a podium and read with poise and feeling.

Both volunteer emcees are lifelong residents of Waukegan with long and impressive records of service to their community.  Both are members of the Latino Coalition of Lake County, and Dulce Ortiz serves on the organization’s board.  Marc Jones, who serves as a Waukegan Park District Commissioner, has the distinction of being only the second African-American elected to the board in the Park District’s 99-year history.

The volunteers who judged the students’ work also have impressive backgrounds.  Lois Baer Barr, Associate Professor of Spanish at Lake Forest College, has published works in both Spanish and English.  Lois has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize for both fiction and poetry.  Shanica Bell is a Christian minister and author, she edits a magazine and hosts an Internet radio show, and she is the CEO of a media marketing firm.  Herb Berman is a lawyer and labor arbitrator and co-founder of the Library Poets, a poetry workshop sponsored by the Deerfield Public Library. His poems have been published in many literary journals.  Mary Jane Gabrielsen is also a co-founder of the Libray Poets and an editor for East on Central literary journal.  Her poetry is published in The Avocet, and she has most recently collaborated with five other writers on a progressive novella due out in May.

The judges were invited to read original works during the course of the evening, and those who were able to attend gladly complied, to the delight of the audience.  Judy Kaufman, Editor-in-Chief of East on Central literary journal and a longtime judge of past Community Connection Poetry and Prose competitions, gave opening remarks.

But the night belonged to the student authors.  One by one, they came to the podium and read their works.  The audience couldn’t help but be moved by their performances.  It was clear that these young people had talent and intelligence, and that the theme of “Justice” had inspired them to write great things.