Our View: Meg Loughran Cappel for Illinois Senate District 49

The Illinois 49th Senate District is a truly purple district.

The voters there have sent both a Democrat and a Republican to represent them in the lower chamber of the General Assembly. The current occupant of the Senate seat, Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, is a moderate Democrat who’s denounced the partisan battles preventing true legislative progress in the state.

This year, voters have a choice between Democrat Meg Loughran Cappel and Republican Tom McCullagh to succeed Bertino-Tarrant.

McCullagh has proven himself to be an aggressive champion of conservative policies and a willingness to put his ideas to the test as he’s previously run for the Joliet Junior College board. But we fear at times he’s been too aggressive and politically divisive in a way that only further polarizes.

He's claimed, without evidence, that public health officials are double-counting when calculating COVID-19 data. He's even posted an image of his opponent next to the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara on his Facebook page, claiming she wanted to tax Illinois residents' retirement accounts, a claim Cappel recently said was "just false."

At a time of unprecedented challenges, voters need someone who’s focused on the issues at hand, not partisan fights.

We believe that Cappel is that candidate. She is a special education teacher in Joliet and sits on the Joliet Township High School board, bringing the type of experience essential to understanding the big issues that have plagued Illinois.

In her campaign, Cappel has prioritized talking about increasing funding toward public school districts to provide more resources for students and lower the property tax burden on residents.

Cappel also has shown a willingness to speak out against the problem of corruption that has haunted her party in Springfield. She said Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan should resign if the allegations of his ties to the ComEd bribery scandal are true.

She’s voiced support for allowing voters to recall politicians guilty of wrongdoing and for term limits.

We still believe Illinois Democrats need to do more to root out the corruption that hurts residents and serves as a distraction.

We will hold the feet of Cappel and other Democrats to the fire when it comes to finally getting the party and the state to shed this embarrassing reputation.

While we also look forward to seeing where McCullagh’s career in politics goes, we believe Cappel is the candidate who best suits the more moderate voters of the 49th District.

Cappel is endorsed.