Illinois Sen. Carol Ronen, D-7th, Illinois Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-12th, Chicago Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th Ward, and Ald. Joe Moore, 49th Ward formally announced this week their support for Mark Pera for Congress.
The group, along with Rick Garcia, the founding executive director of Equality Illinois, Art Johnston, the co-owner of Sidetracks and a leader in the gay community, Ray Koenig, a gay rights activist and a member of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, and Bill Weeks, political co-chair of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), has joined the host committee for Pera’s January 9 fund-raiser at The Mix, 2843 N. Halsted St., in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.
Ronen and Feigenholtz are both prominent progressive leaders in the Illinois General Assembly. Moore is a leading reformer and a progressive-minded member of the City Council. Tunney is a progressive leader and the only openly gay member of the Chicago City Council.
Pera’s aggressive Congressional campaign against Dan Lipinski in Illinois’ 3rd District has been named one of the top primary races to watch in the entire country by the Washington D.C.-based Congressional Quarterly and a number of online publications.
Pera said he’s attracting such wide support from across the city and suburbs because progressive politicians and voters are disappointed with Lipinski’s voting record on the issues that matter to them most, such as Iraq, energy and the environment, choice and LGBT rights.
“Illinois Democrats take great pride in delivering forward-thinking, progressive candidates to Congress. They believe Illinois’ 3rd District should be represented in Congress by a Democrat who votes with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, not President George Bush and the Republicans,” Pera said.
These prominent supporters join a number of Democrats who have already endorsed Mark Pera for Congress, including Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool, Illinois Sen. Dan Kotowski, Illinois Rep. John Fritchey, Chicago aldermen Manuel “Manny” Flores, Brendan Reilly and Scott Waguespack and Water Reclamation District Commissioner Debra Shore.