7th District Congessional candidates trade barbs, debate issues at Austin town hall

Feb. 1--With the March 17 primary election looming, the four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the 7th Congressional district fielded questions at a forum on Chicago's West side Jan. 30.

Rep. Danny Davis has served the district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997, and is seeking an additional two-year term. Joining him on the Democratic primary ballot are Kristine Schanbacher of Chicago, Kina Collins of Chicago and Anthony Clark of Oak Park. Craig Cameron was the lone Republican who filed for the race.

Davis, citing travel issues, was represented by spokesman Ira Cohen at the forum, which took place at the Austin Public Library. A message left with Cohen seeking comment from Davis was not immediately returned.

"I think it's hard to find an issue that progressives have been deeply involved in that Rep. Davis hasn't been in the leadership of," Cohen said. "Congressman Davis has been someone who can build a movement and still does that on a daily basis."

Schanbacher, an attorney, called herself a progressive activist, who has helped overturn a statute that would have effectively closed all abortion clinics in Wisconsin, won asylum for a transgender woman fleeing Mexico and obtained a reduced sentence for a juvenile who had been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

"We can and should be leading in education and healthcare, human rights, green energy and human life," Schanbacher said. "I've been an outspoken advocate on the failed war on drugs that needs to end immediately. We have the resources to be doing better. I want to help make this district the powerhouse it should be."

Collins, who was born in and still lives in Austin, is a gun violence prevention and healthcare advocate who helped establish The Illinois Council on Women and Girls, which prioritizes the needs of women when evaluating state policies and allocating resources. She also pushed for House Bill 40, which provides state health insurance and Medicaid coverage for women's reproductive health.

"I was born in Austin, I was raised in Austin and when we win in 2020 I'm staying in Austin," Collins said. "It's important those closest to the pain are the ones in power. In a district that's 85 percent Democratic and overwhelmingly working class, we need a working class champion to represent our district. That's going to be our campaign."

Clark, who unsuccessfully challenged Davis in 2018, is an Air Force veteran and teacher at Oak Park and River Forest High School. He says he's running to fight systemic issues that exist within the education and justice systems, which he says continue to plague the diverse 7th District.

"Of the millions of people who've moved out of Illinois, over 600,000 alone are black Americans who moved out of Chicago because we're tired," Clark said. "We are struggling. I know poverty. I've seen my parents who scraped together their money to move us to a better community. Like the narrative that often exists, you cannot move away from struggle. Struggle is universal."

Candidates also spoke of the need for more housing options and development throughout the 7th District, with Cohen touting Rep. Davis' involvement with the proposed Green New Deal in Washington.

"The Green New Deal is not just discrete features that build housing and change the environmental impact of energy creation, but it's designed to fundamentally restructure how our economy works," Cohen said. "It's an opportunity to create economic justice on an unprecedented scale in our country."

An "affordable housing boom" is needed in the district, Schanbacher says, adding federal money is needed to support education and housing initiatives, while also fighting hunger in many impoverished communities.

Collins said such work would be part of her equity agenda, saying she would like to convene a "healthcare and life expectancy task force," noting a lack of food options, lead in drinking water pipes and gun violence as challenges many 7th District residents face.

Clark says Medicare for all and a homes guarantee are "human rights," adding the United States healthcare system disproportionately impacts people of color in a negative way. He also feels the government needs to pass a "livable wage" for all workers and cited the benefits of passing the Green New Deal.

All candidates criticized the current immigration system in the United States and said they would fight for campaign finance reform.

Collins said she hopes to identify opportunity zones in the district to target for redevelopment and lift residents out of poverty.

"When we look down Madison Street, that's a perfect opportunity where we can be revitalizing and bringing small businesses back," Collins said. "What we know, in this historic neighborhood we're sitting in now, is Brach's Candy and G.E. shut down. We saw a lot of white flight to the western suburbs. We saw a lot of communities deteriorate on the West side. We need to identify opportunities and bring federal dollars back."

Clark said he will fight for the voting rights of all, adding the need for automatic voter registration.

"Throughout history, we know how voting and voting rights have been utilized to oppress certain people in this country," Clark said. "Young people don't see anybody like them in office fighting for them. Even before we ran, we were knocking on doors trying to get people motivated."

Schanbacher said additional investment is needed in renewable energy projects, which she feels will bring much-needed jobs and opportunity to the area.

"We need high-speed rail," Schanbacher said. "We're not even close to it. China is building a magnetic levitation train. We can't keep getting left behind like this and losing so many good jobs. President Eisenhower redeveloped our country with the highway system. We can do that again."

In addition to stating their own personal goals and reasons for running, the candidates took shots at each other for actions prior to finalizing the ballot. Collins criticized Schanbacher's camp for challenging her nominating petitions, which she ultimately survived, while Clark pointed out how he spent $13,000 to survive a challenge by Rep. Davis to his nomination in 2018.

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