Joining a growing list of other hopefuls, Greg Harris—the chief of staff for 48th Ward Ald. Mary Ann Smith—has decided to enter as a potential replacement for retiring 13th District State Representative Larry McKeon.
'I've given all of this a lot of thought, and I will throw my hat into the ring,' Harris told Windy City Times. 'I like that the process [ of selecting a candidate ] is very open and I feel that my experience and background could be very good for that position.' ( Four of the five Democratic Ward committeemen who represent the 13th District will vote on the new candidate, who will run unopposed in November. ) In addition, he said that he 'had talked to a lot of people and folks gave me all kinds of encouragement.'
'I have a chance to work on policies and issues that are important to people in the community,' Harris said. 'There are items specific to the LGBT community that I want to work on as well as issues that affect the broader community. I want to work on issues involving healthcare, civil rights, education and property taxes [ for example ] .'
Harris is the latest of an expanding list of individuals eager to replace McKeon on the November ballot. Among those who have expressed interest are Kevin Thompson, a board member of Equality Illinois; Tom O'Donnell, an ally of Democratic Ward Committeeman Eugene Schulter; out lesbian Mel Ferrand, a self-described lifelong political activist; and Jim Snyder, McKeon's own pick to replace him on the ballot.
Also, this latest development promises to make the slate-making meeting for the district more intriguing. The event will take place on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Anderson Pavilion at Swedish Covenant Hospital, 2751 W. Winona. All candidates should call Schulter at 773-404-1443 to be placed on the agenda. ( Windy City Times will report on the meeting online at www.windycitymediagroup.com Aug. 30 and in the Sept. 6 print issue. )
The nomination of the committeemen, as well as candidate documents, have to be filed with at the Illinois Board of Elections office in Springfield by Aug. 31.