EDITORIAL: Dady our choice in Democratic primary for U.S. rep

March 14--Immigration in not only a moral issue, it's an economic one, says Sara Dady, a Rockford native who is one of four Democrats who want to represent 16th Congressional District.

We think Dady, an attorney who specializes in immigration law, is the best candidate and deserves your vote in the March 20 primary.

Dady says undocumented workers -- if they could obtain legal status -- would add millions of dollars to the Illinois economy.

A report by the Institute on Taxation & Economic policy that was updated in March of 2017 shows that the approximately 500,000 undocumented workers would add $158 million in state and local taxes. "They'd get a Social Security number and invest more in the economy," Dady said.

Dady, whose firm Dady & Hoffman LLC has grown to 12 employees, said she has represented "more than 4,000 individuals and families in over a decade of practice."

Her passion for immigration reform is obvious, but she's far from a one-issue candidate. She supports a single-payer health care system, wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour over five years, favors banning assault-style weapons and bump stocks and advocates an infrastructure program where the federal government pays most of the bill, as it has under previous administrations.

The other candidates in the field have similar views on those issues, but there are nuances about how they would approach them.

Neill Mohammad of DeKalb is a health care management consultant. He wants to make day care more available, provide universal health insurance through a single-payer model and improve public education.

Amy "Murri" Briel of Joliet organized and coaches Phoenix Futbol Club, a nonprofit girls soccer club. She supports the Affordable Care Act but believes it to be only the first step toward universal health care. She is a union advocate who disapproves of right-to-work legislation.

On immigration, Briel said Congress should pass a "Clean Dream Act," which would grant permanent residency status to the 800,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors by their parents who crossed the U.S. border illegally.

Beth Vercolio-Osmund and her husband own and operate the 35-acre Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm near Ottawa, the first livestock Community Supported Agricultural venture in Illinois. Beth is also co-director of the Ottawa Food Pantry.

Vercolio-Osmund said she's not against gun ownership, saying "we lease hunting rights on our property." She'd like to see in-person registration before someone can buy a gun. She also would vote to give the Centers for Disease Control the funding to study gun violence. She's a graduate of Northern Illinois University University with a degree in special education. She taught school and worked for a software corporation that trained teachers.

All four candidates are "frustrated" with U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon. They said he votes along party lines, is inaccessible to constituents and appears to be more interested in being on television than legislating.

Kinzinger is being challenged in the Republican primary by Oswego businessman James Marter. We've endorsed Kinzinger.

Dady said that if she wins, unlike Kinzinger, she will have a full-time office in Rockford. She also plans to have offices in the Ottawa-Morris area, and traveling offices in Dixon and Watseka.

We think Democrats should give Dady a chance to face off with Kinzinger, assuming he wins the primary. She is endorsed.

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