Readers never seem that interested in political news until an election draws near. So Sunday’s Chicago News Cooperative package in the Chicago pages of the New York Times comes just two days before Tuesday’s primary in Illinois, and we have lots of political news.
When the polls open early Tuesday morning, voters will be choosing the chosen ones to represent the Democratic and Republican parties in the November elections. A broad range of candidates are vying to lead their respective tickets for Governor, the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Obama, state offices like Attorney General, legislative seats and, of course, the hotly contested presidency of the Cook County Board, a job that gives the winner control over billions of budget dollars and thousands of jobs.
We’ve written about many of these races over the past couple of months and our coverage in Sunday’s New York Times has a little about who says what about whom. The main thrust, though, is what potential voters and political heavyweights are saying about the candidates and the process.
I’ve covered or presided over coverage of these sorts of issues for a couple of decades for numerous papers, including my last two jobs, as managing editor of the Chicago Tribune and as editor of the Los Angeles Times. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a nasty political atmosphere with as many angry voters raising issues that really cast doubt about the durability of the Republic.
From a restaurant in the philosophical and actual shadow of Barack Obama’s Hyde Park home to the northern reaches of Cook County, voters are more than upset; some wonder whether America’s future is as bright and promising as it once was. Chicago News Cooperative reporters Don Terry and Katie Fretland talked to many people as they roamed the region, asking residents what’s on their minds. Veteran political columnist James Warren also weighs in on the races and David Greising, the Chicago News Cooperative’s deputy editor and a former business columnist for the Chicago Tribune, has a particularly incisive report on Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias and his experience as a banker.
With its seasoned journalists and respected reporters and editors, the Chicago News Cooperative fills the Chicago pages of the New York Times with the kind of in-depth journalism Chicago needs and deserves. We publish the Chicago pages every Friday and Sunday with great reporting and photography. As I’m fond of saying, we report, we don t just repeat. Hope you enjoy Sunday’s report on politics. After all, it’s that time of year — again.