Could partisan political “trade-off” be detrimental to Illinois’ future as state?

Does Bost's congressional victory ...

Some might wonder how President Donald Trump can be delusional enough to think his political interests succeeded on Election Day. Yet if one looks at the political maps in a certain way, it becomes apparent.

For it would seem the parts of Illinois that were already Republican are now moreso.

THOSE AREAS MIGHT well be the parts of the state that lie outside the Chicago metropolitan area. But those are often areas that think of themselves as an entity to their own.

… console Republicans for Roskam's loss?

Which means I’m not surprised many of those people are feeling thankful they have so thoroughly chased Democratic Party interests out of their portion of the state. They may think they now have domination of the only portions of Illinois that matter.

Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn a similar sentiment exists within the Chicago area that isn’t all too concerned about these political losses, because they managed to take portions of the outer suburbs that oft were represented by Republicans in the past, but have now swung over to the Dems. Heck, Illinois Republican Chairman Tim Schneider couldn't even win re-election to his post on the Cook County Board!

The bottom line is that Illinois’ congressional delegation come January will consist of 13 Democrats and only 5 Republicans – a two-seat gain for “da Dems.”

Are Underwood and Casten (below) … 

RANDY HULTGREN AND Peter Roskam will be gone, replaced by Lauren Underwood and Sean Casten. Throughout levels of government, the Republican Party became irrelevant throughout the Chicago-area.

Yet for those anxious to wear the Republican-tinged glasses to view things, Tuesday was the night that Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., fought off Democrat Brendan Kelly and Rep. Rodney Davis beat Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan.

Albeit the latter was by a narrow voter margin of 50.51 percent to 49.49 percent.

But Davis is a member of Congress from the Champaign-area representing a swath of central Illinois, while Bost is from around Carbondale and is the lone representative on Capitol Hill of that region of Southern Illinois that thinks of itself as “Egypt.”

… gain, or losses, for Illinois?

THE FACT THAT Roskam and Hultgren will be gone? I’m sure the ideologues will think it was more important to keep Davis and Bost.

Heck, let’s note that when President Donald Trump felt inclined to come to Illinois to campaign on behalf of Republicans in general, he went to Bost’s district for a political “fly-in” rally. The president himself said earlier this week that Roskam’s defeat was because the two-decade political incumbent “didn’t want the embrace” of presidential support.

Although I suspect if Roskam had actively touted himself as a “Trump Man,” he would have had his political clock cleaned by an even bigger margin than the 52.84 percent to 47.16 percent tally he actually lost by.

What caught my eye in looking at the congressional district map for Illinois is that there is one point right down the middle of the state where one could go straight through from the Wisconsin border all the way to where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers converge (a.k.a., Cairo) and never set foot in a Democratic-represented area.

THE SAME WOULD apply if you traveled from the east edge of Illinois around Danville to the far west around Quincy. Nothing but political “red” on the map.

Too easy for Illinoisans to ignore other party

You’d be passing in between the Chicago and Quad-Cities areas, and also skipping over the Illinois portions of the St. Louis area – which, if you think about it, are the portions of Illinois that comprise nearly three-quarters of the state’s population.

Which is how Democrats were able to gain Illinois House seats in suburban portions of Illinois to once-again have a 60 percent “veto-proof” supermajority, while allowing Republicans to feel like they still kept control of the rural parts of the state. We in Illinois may come out of this year’s election cycle thinking our region prevailed, even though we’re progressing to the point of becoming two separate regions. 

Let’s hope Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker wasn’t just paying lip service when he said this week Chicago will “have no more special a role” than other Illinois cities, because having us work together as a state is how we’ll be capable of accomplishing anything of significance in the future for all our benefit.

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