Barbara Laimins, Co-Chair of the Mis/Disinformation Task Force of the League of Women Voters of Illinois, emphasized at the start of the U.S. Congressional 9th District candidate forum, which was held virtually on Sunday, that this was not a debate, so candidates were to refrain from personal attacks and “negative campaigning.”
Long-time Democratic incumbent Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Republican nominee Seth Alan Cohen remained cordial throughout, and while there was a handful of issues they agreed on, they staked out very different positions.
Throughout the candidate forum, which was organized by the League of Women Voters of Evanston, Cohen positioned himself as someone who supported the reduced role of the federal government. He acknowledged that many voters might be leery of casting the ballot for someone “with the R next to their name,” but he touted his beliefs as well as his willingness to listen.
Meanwhile, Schakowsky leaned into her legislative record and argued that the federal government should be a tool help those in need.
All questions were submitted by residents in advance, with the league screening out questions for “appropriateness” and weeding out duplicates.
Introductions
The 9th District encompasses all of Evanston, a significant section of Chicago’s North Side, Wilmette and many western suburbs. Schakowsky has represented the district since 1998. She faced Republican challengers in every race since then, but none of them has ever gathered above 33% of the vote.
Cohen is a Marine veteran and a University of Chicago graduate. He co-founded and currently sits on the board of The Brigade, a Chicago nonprofit that helps veterans who graduated college find careers.
In his opening remarks, Cohen said that “Congress failed you in every facet of your life.” He said he decided to run because his son’s birth made him think about the future of the country.
Schakowsky touted her record in Congress, mentioning her contributions to the development of the Affordable Care Act.
“I have made my life’s work making sure that everyday people have exactly what they need, and I do it with Congress, on my committees,” she said.
Schakowsky also touted her office’s constituent services, saying she believed she had “the best constituent services in the country.”
“If you have trouble getting through the red tape, call my office and the Schakowsky team will absolutely help you in every way,” she said.
Civil rights
When asked whether the federal government should do anything to address voting restrictions that have been cropping up in other states. Schakowsky said she “absolutely” thinks that voting should be regulated at national level, saying that voting should be as easy as possible. She pointed to “many states” purging voters who haven’t voted in recent elections from voting rolls – normally a housecleaning process to remove registrations of candidates who either moved or died – which she argued has been weaponized because states such as Texas hinder eligible but disenfranchised voters by not giving them sufficient opportunity to vote in their district.
“What we’re seeing in too many states is there are [efforts] right now to purge people from their rights to vote, from their voting rights,” she said. In Texas right now, a million people have been purged.”
Texans who were moved from the rolls have until Oct. 7 to appeal their removal – but local election authorities don’t proactively notify them of the removal, so they may miss the deadline because they don’t know there’s an issue in the first place.
Cohen rejected the premise of the question, saying that the fact that, “in Georgia, we see more Black Americans vote than ever before” shows that such concerns are overblown. He said that that voting should be left up to the states.
“I think anyone watching right now thinks it’s a terrible idea for the federal government to take over voting,” he said. “The federal government destroys everything it touches.”
When asked whether the federal government should regulate abortion nationally, Cohen insisted it should be left up to the states.
“I’m very happy that Illinois gets to make its own decision, Florida gets to make its own decision, California gets to make its own decision,” he said.
Schakowsky insisted that legalizing abortion nationwide would take the government out of what should be a personal decision.
Other domestic issues
When asked about the tax reform, both candidates agreed there are too many ways for wealthy candidates to reduce how much they pay. Cohen said he favored a flat tax or “a very small progressive tax rate,” and generally to streamline the tax rate to remove as many exemptions, deductions and tax loopholes as possible.
“Not only would it make taxes more seamless, but we will also grow the tax base and tax revenue,” he said.
While Cohen said the government should reduce spending, Schakowsky said that it was about making sure that federal revenue goes toward programs and initiatives that benefit the people who need help the most.
“This is the richest country in the world right now,” she said. “We can absolutely afford to make sure people have the funds that we need. The minimum wage is $7.25 federally right now. That is wrong.”
When asked about whether the government should address gun violence, Schakowsky said she supported restoring the national ban on assault weapons while Cohen said he supported more mental health services.
“I think it’s absolutely crazy to believe that guns are the problem instead of the people,” he said. “We [live in] the society where suicide rate is sky high, depression is sky high, and people who feel alone in this world. We need to solve this problem, we need to create a healthy society today.”
When asked for their position on immigration, both candidates said that they “believe in immigration,” though not without some caveats. Schakowsky said that the current system needs reform, while Cohen decried Chicago spending $138 million to support asylum-seekers from Central and South American countries who were bused to the area by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“My mother’s grandmother was an immigrant,” he said. “She came over from Russia, and she didn’t cost the government [millions].”
Cohen said that, while he wouldn’t support putting “a slab of concrete” at the border, he would support more funding for the Border Patrol and “put[ting] some fencing up.”
What neither candidate mentioned is that while those asylum-seekers don’t necessarily want to depend on city support, current American immigration laws don’t allow them to work legally unless their application has been pending for at least 150 days.
The candidates were also asked about whether Congress should impose an ethics code on the U.S. Supreme Court. While Cohen believed it would be a violation of the constitutional separation of powers, Schakowsky argued that it was necessary.
“They can make decisions to affect all Americans and they have nothing that they’re required to do to make sure they do it ethically,” she said. “There ought to be some limits, some rules that they have to follow.”
International issues
Both candidates said they supported government aid to Ukraine as the Russian invasion is in its third year.
Both said they wouldn’t support deployment of American troops on Ukrainian soil. Cohen added that he wouldn’t support U.S funding of Ukrainian reconstruction once the war is over.
The candidates were also asked for their position on a potential ceasefire in Gaza. Both Cohen and Schakowsky are Jewish, and both denounced the deadly Hamas attack last October. But while Cohen offered unconditional support, Schakowsky said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is stalling negotiations. She said she supports a ceasefire deal that includes the release of all hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“[Hamas] is definitely a group that doesn’t deserve any kind of support. But we need to end this war,” Schakowsky said.
Cohen said that “the only way to get safety for the Palestinian people, the only way to get safety for the Lebanese people” is to root out Hamas and Hezbollah. He also said that his concern is that any aid Palestine gets would be simply used by Hamas “to enrich themselves.”
At forum, Schakowsky, Cohen discuss immigration, Israeli-Hamas ceasefire is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.