By IL Public Radio / KWMU
Illinois – KWMU has been airing a series of conversations with the 15 candidates for U.S. Senate in Illinois.
Current Senator Peter Fitzgerald has opted out of running for reeleection, a move that opened the election to either party. Seven Democrats and Eight Republicans are running for their party's nomination.
The Illinois Primary is March 16.
Illinois Public Radio's Steve Edwards spoke with many of the candidates.
Photos courtesy of Chicago Public Radio.
| Republican Jim Oberweis | https://www.kwmu.org/pic/audiospeakericonsm.gif Listen | |
| Jim Oberweis lost a run for U-S Senate two years ago. He's best known for the ice cream and dairy business that his family runs. He's made immigration a main issue in his campaign this year. IL Public Radio's Steve Edwards asked Oberweis about the President's plan to give work permits to illegal immigrants... | |
| www.oberweis2004.com | ||
| Democrat Gery Chico | https://www.kwmu.org/pic/audiospeakericonsm.gif Listen | |
| Democrat Gery Chico has served as both Chicago Mayor Daley's chief of staff and chairman of the Chicago Public Schools. Given that education background, Illinois Public Radio's Steve Edwards asked Chico why he thinks the federal No Child Left Behind Act should be amended... | |
| www.gerychicoforsenate.com | ||
| Republican Jack Ryan | https://www.kwmu.org/pic/audiospeakericonsm.gif Listen | |
| Chicago businessman Jack Ryan was one of the first Republicans to announce his candidacy for the seat. A graduate of Harvard's law and business schools, Ryan left a banking career with Goldman Sachs to teach at a Catholic high school on Chicago's south side. Illinois Public Radio's Steve Edwards asked Jack Ryan what he would do to revive Illinois' economy... | |
| www.jackryan2004.com | ||
| Democrat Joyce Washington | https://www.kwmu.org/pic/audiospeakericonsm.gif Listen | |
| Democrat Joyce Washington has spent her career in health care, first as a nurse, later as a top executive at many Chicago-area hospitals. She ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 2000. IL Public Radio's Steve Edwards asked Washington about her ideas for new health care programs... | |
| www.washingtonforussenate.com | ||
| Democrat Barack Obama | https://www.kwmu.org/pic/audiospeakericonsm.gif Listen | |
| Democrat Barack Obama hopes to go from being a State Senator to a U.S. Senator. When he's not being a State Senator in Springfield, Obama teaches law at the University of Chicago. He was also the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. IL Public Radio's Steve Edwards asked Obama gay marriage... | |
| www.obamaforillinois.com | ||
| Republican Steve Rauschenberger | https://www.kwmu.org/pic/audiospeakericonsm.gif Listen | |
| State Senator Steve Rauschenberger has been a state senator for more than a decade. He was the youngest senator ever named to head the senate's budget committee. Illinois Public Radio's Steve Edwards asked Rauschenberger what the Republican Party has to do to win in November... | |
| www.steve2004.com | ||
| Democrat Dan Hynes | https://www.kwmu.org/pic/audiospeakericonsm.gif Listen | |
| Democrat Dan Hynes writes the state's checks in his current job as state Comptroller. He's also the son of a powerful Democratic Party committeeman in Chicago. IL Public Radio's Steve Edwards spoke with Hynes about campaign finance reform and education. | |
| www.danhynes.com | ||
| The Great Unknown | https://www.kwmu.org/pic/audiospeakericonsm.gif Listen |
| IL Public Radio's Simone Orendain asked each of the 15 candidates for Illinois' U.S. Senate seat to share something about themselves that few people know. The answers range from bus hijinks to who sings the best in the shower. | |