The Bloomington & Normal Trades & Labor Assembly (AFL-CIO), the central labor council for all McLean County unions, and the Livingston & McLean Counties Building & Construction Trades Council, which consists of construction unions, jointly interviewed local candidates and voted on the following endorsements for McLean County races:
88th Illinois House District - Jill Blair (D)
105th Illinois House District - Ben Webb (D)
Sheriff- Jon Sandage (R)
Treasurer - Rebecca McNeil (R) (Trades & Labor only)
County Clerk - Nikita Richards (D)
COUNTY BOARD DISTRICTS:
District 1 - no endorsement.
District 2 - David Siebert (D) District 3 - No endorsement
District 4 - Logan Smith (D)
District 5- Elizabeth Johnston (D)
District 6 - Laurie Wollrab (D)
District 7 - Sharon Chung (D) District 8 - Shayna Watchinski (D)
District 9 - David Parker (D) District 10 - no endorsement
All candidates slated as of July 1 were sent a two-page questionnaire and invited to interview with local union delegates. Of the candidates, 12 returned the survey and those candidates all participated in an open process interview. The delegate committee then reported their recommendations to the two organizations.
“We appreciate everyone who took the time to answer our concerns,” said Trades & Labor President Ronn Morehead. “Even though not every candidate who interviewed was endorsed, we felt the discussions were frank and educational for our delegates and for the candidates.”
“To answer our questions, the candidates had to research and learn about labor issues,” added Rich Veitengruber, Building & Construction Trades Council president. “The back and forth discussion was healthy and endorsements were not blanket, but engendered real debate and discussion among the delegates.”
For those candidates who agreed, their survey responses are available on the Trades & Labor Assembly website, www.bntrades.org. “We wanted to ensure our members and the public could read what candidates had to say,” added Morehead.
The Illinois AFL-CIO has previously endorsed State Representative candidates Jill Blair (D-88th district) and Ben Well (D-105th district).
Labor_endorsements_in_McLean_County_races__candidate_responses082830.htm
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