Illinois Green Party Files Record Number of Candidates
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By the end of the slating deadline (Apr. 7), the Illinois Green Party expects to have some 60 candidates for offices across the state, concluding a major statewide recruiting effort for candidates at federal, state and county levels.
Since the slating period began in early March, the party has added 7 candidates for U.S. Congress and 1 candidate for U.S. Senate for a total of 15 federal legislative offices. Sixteen state legislative candidates were added for a total of 19. At the county level, the
party recruited 10 new candidates, including 5 in Cook County, to bring the total to 26 county candidates across the state.
Illinois ballots will also feature a presidential candidate chosen at the Green Party National Convention in Chicago, July 10-13, 2008.
"Our hard work to establish the party in 2006 has led to the Green Party becoming more competitive in 2008," said Rich Whitney, the 2006 Green Party candidate for governor, who received more 10% of the vote. "I'm encouraged by not only the number of candidates, but the high caliber of candidates for offices at all levels of government."
FULL LIST OF CANDIDATES
Senate Candidate Named, Delegates Chosen
Over 90 members of the Illinois Green Party (ILGP) converged on the campus of Bradley University in Peoria for the organization’s Spring Membership Meeting and State Convention, March 28-30.
During the weekend, a candidate for U.S. Senate was nominated, Delegates and Alternates to the national Green Party convention were named, and steps were taken toward agreement on revisions to the party's Bylaws and Platform.
On Saturday the party’s State Central Committee nominated Kathy Cummings to be the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate. The SCC is the statutory body designated to fill "vacancies in nomination" — that is, to slate candidates on the November ballot where none were elected in the primary. In nominating Kathy, the Committee acted on the basis of an advisory poll taken among the assembled ILGP members.
The SCC also appointed 13 precinct committeepersons in counties where none were elected in the February 5 primary.
Members of the SCC, along with delegates chosen by county central committees, convened on Sunday for the "State Convention," a meeting designated by law to name people to roles in the presidential election: Delegates and Alternates to the national nominating convention (Chicago, July 10-13), and Electors to carry Illinois’s 21 electoral votes to the Electoral College after the Green Party candidate for president wins the state’s popular vote on November 4.
Illinois is allotted 44 Delegates at the Green Party’s national convention. These are distributed among the four candidates for president who appeared on the primary ballot, in proportion to their shares of the popular vote: Cynthia McKinney 25, Howie Hawkins 8, Kent Mesplay 6, and Jared Ball 5. Each candidate is also assigned a number of Alternates equal to half his/her number of Delegates.
Aside from these nominations and appointments, the Bylaws Committee and the Platform Committee presented proposals for revisions to their respective documents, and the assembled members held fruitful discussions of those revisions, which are subject to official approval by the Membership at a later date.
The Saturday night fund-raising dinner at Barracks Cater Inn was a “poverty meal” consisting of only soups and breads, to underline poverty awareness. After dinner, a silent auction was held, followed by a talent show featuring stories, poems, songs, and other musical performances by Illinois Green Party members.
McKinney Wins Illinois Primary
Former Congresswoman (D-Georgia) CYNTHIA MCKINNEY has won majority support for President in the Green Party's statewide primary election in Illinois, which was held February 5.
With 57% of the vote, McKinney did more than three times as well as her next-ranking competitor, Howie Hawkins, who got 17%. Hawkins, a co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, ran openly as a place-holder for Ralph Nader, in case Nader should choose to run.
The other two candidates for President on the Green Party ballot in Illinois — California air quality inspector Kent Mesplay and Morgan State University professor Jared Ball (who dropped out of the race to support McKinney) — received 14% and 12% of the vote respectively.
McKinney was the first African-American Congresswoman to be elected from Georgia, serving in Congress from 1993-2003 and 2005-2007. She has been an advocate for Hurricane Katrina victims and voters disenfranchised in the 2000 and 2004 elections. Her campaign website is www.runcynthiarun.org
Primary Election Places Dozens of Green Party Candidates on November Ballot
Thanks to the February 5 primary election, at least 32 Green Party candidates will run for public office on the ballot of the general election in November, a new record for the rapidly growing state political party. Also in the primary, more than 80 Green Party committeepersons were elected.
Nine Green candidates will be running for U.S. Congress, six for state legislature, and several running for county and other local offices across the state.
"This truly is a monumental moment for the Green Party," says congressional campaign coordinator Walter Pituc. "Previously, we'd only had one congressional candidate ever in Illinois Green Party history. This year, we have congressional candidates in nine districts. That's pretty remarkable growth, and we're only going to continue to grow beyond this election."
Report Irregularities with the Green Party Ballot!
In the February 5 primary election in Illinois, election authorities were obligated to present the Green Party ballot equally alongside the ballots of the other two established parties in the state. But the Green Party has received over 70 complaints from voters who were told that there was no Green Party ballot, or they were given a Democratic ballot on green paper, or they were told to vote on a touch-screen machine while other voters cast paper ballots, and so on.
If you encountered any problems with ballot availability, harassment, or other inconsistencies, report it to the following authorities:
1. Election Protection Coalition: (866) 687-8683
2. Illinois Attorney General's office:
- Northern Illinois (north of I-80) (866) 536-3496,
- South and Central Illinois (south of I-80) (866) 559-6812.
3. Illinois Board of Elections hotline:
- Chicago and Collar Counties: (312) 263-7367
- Everywhere else in Illinois: (217) 782-4141
- TTY: (217) 782-1518
4. Illinois election authorities (County Clerks et al.) can be found here.
5. Let the ILGP know: call (312) 924-1803 or email election-problems@ilgp.org
See our polling place checklist and More >
Green Party chooses Chicago for 2008 national convention
The Green Party of the United States will hold its 2008 national nominating convention in Chicago, Illinois.
Delegates from state Green Parties and caucuses in the party's National Committee completed their vote yesterday, with Chicago taking the lead over Detroit, Minneapolis, and Oakland.
Greens from all four cities had submitted proposals for the 2008 convention. The National Committee chose the site using ranked choice voting (also called instant run-off voting) , a voting reform the party also recommends for single seat offices like governor or mayor.
Chicago's proposal can be read at . The convention will take place July 10 to 13, 2008. MORE >
