The next primary elections, to be held March 15, feature a number of openly gay and lesbian candidates. The following individuals have publicly stated that they are members of the LGBT community and were on the ballot as of late February.
Kelly Cassidy
Race: Illinois state Representative ( 14th District )
Website: RepCassidy.com .
The skinny: Cassidy, who defeated another lesbian candidate, Paula Basta, in March 2014, is this time running unopposed in the Democratic primaryand she has no Republican challenger, either.
Sam Yingling
Race: Illinois state Representative ( 62nd District )
Website: SamYingling.com .
The skinny: What's old is new again. Yingling is running unopposed in the primary for his third term. He is the first openly gay House member from outside metropolitan Chicago. And Republican Rod Drobinski of Wauconda is, again, Yingling's opponent for the general election; Yingling prevailed in 2014.
Greg Harris
Race: Illinois state Representative ( 13th District )
Website: GregHarris.org .
The skinny: Harriswho was chief co-sponsor of SB10, the legislation that brought about marriage equality in Illinoishas a district that includes several North Side neighborhoods. He was first elected in 2006 and, like Cassidy, is currently running unopposed, ensuring his re-election.
Jacob Meister
Race: Cook County Circuit Court Clerk
Website: JacobMeister.com .
Meister has a battle in unseating longtime ( and controversial ) clerk Dorothy Brown, and he also has Ald. Michelle Harris as a competitor. However, he was received several endorsements, including from the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago NOW PAC and a large coalition of Cook County-area Latino elected officials. The winner in the Democratic primary will face Diane Shapiro, Republican committeeman of Chicago's 46th Ward, in the November general election.
Ed Underhill
Race: Judge ( Cook-6th Subcircuit-"A" vacancy )
Website: EdUnderhillForJudge.com .
The skinny: The primary is definitely the race that matters, as there are no Republican adversaries in the general election. Underhillwho lives with his husband, Liam, and their dog, Finnis running against Anna Loftus and Carlos Claudio. Underhill is a trial attorney with 30 years of experience, and has been a Bucktown homeowner for the past 15 years.
Deidre Baumann
Race: Judge ( Cook Circuit-Palmer Vacancy )
Website: DeidreBaumannForJudge.com .
The skinny: Baumann finds herself in a very competitive race, with three other primary candidates ( Pat Heneghan, Susana Ortiz and Camela Gardner ). ( Like with Underhill, there is no Republican contender for the general election. ) Baumann has 23 years representing people against the government and large corporations, and was lead counsel in the Burr Oak Cemetery litigation.
Early voting info
Early voting for the March 15 primary election will take place Feb. 29 through March 12. ( On March 13-14, early voting will be offered at one of 14 "permanent early voting sites," including the Chicago Board of Elections, 69 W. Washington St. ) Voters registered in the City of Chicago may use any early voting site in the city, regardless of where the voters live.
Voters don't need a reason or excuse to use early voting; however, voters do need to present government-issued photo identification.
Ballots cast in early voting are final. After casting ballots in early voting, voters may not return to amend, change or undo a ballot for any reason. It is a felony to vote more than onceor to attempt to vote more than oncein the same election.
All 51 early voting sites will be open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. To get a list of sites, visit www.chicagoelections.com/en/early-voting.html .
Clinton campaign opens Chicago offices
Ahead of the March 15 primary in this state, Hillary For Illinois opened offices on the North and South Sides of Chicago.
The offices are at 5401 S. Wentworth Ave. and 1543 N. Wells St. They officially opened Feb. 23.
Hillary Clinton's Democratic opponent, Bernie Sanders, has launched an office in the South Loop, at 600 W. Roosevelt Rd.