REDBIRDS JACK UP THE JACKRABBITS
ROCKY HORROR TOUCHES AUDIENCE FEATURES 6
SPORTS 8
Vol. 129 / No. 21
videtteonline
MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2016
ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSIT Y’S NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1888
Know your district
The Congressional race will be an important part of the ballot Nov. 8. Here’s a rundown of the candidates in our area. Candidates for the 13th District (ISU/Bloomington)
Candidates for the 18th District (Bloomington-Normal)
Democrat: Mark Wicklund
Republican: Rodney Davis
Democrat: Junius Rodriguez
Republican: Darin LaHood
Mark Wicklund, 48, of Decatur, announced Nov. 3, 2015 his campaign to represent Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. In a news conference at the Decatur Civic Center, Wicklund said his oppoMark nent, U.S. Rep. Rodney Wicklund Davis, R-Taylorville, was “part of the Republican party of ‘no.’” “We are going to build a new coalition that brings together seniors, organized labor, working families, farmers, students, women and veterans who are ready to elect a congressman who will fight for them, not against them,” Wicklund said. Wicklund is the president of the DecaturMacon County Opportunities Corp. board. He has ties with the Army Wounded Warrior Program as his son, Adam Wicklund, suffered a hemorrhagic stroke while on leave from the Army in 2013, linked to his proximity to explosions while serving in Afghanistan, according to The Pantagraph. Wicklund favors women’s reproductive rights, gun ownership rights and universal background checks, climate change, tuitionfree public higher education, health care for all Americans, raising the minimum wage to a living wage and Social Security.
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, 46, is serving his second term for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. He has been in Congress since 2013. Prior to his terms in U.S. Rep. Congress, Davis was Rodney Davis Projects Director for U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, for 16 years. While in Congress, Davis is on the House Committee on Agriculture, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on House Administration. He has also been appointed to serve as the Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research. Recently, Davis withdrew his support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump following controversial comments he made towards women in a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape. “As parents of a teenage daughter and teen twin boys, my wife and I teach them to respect women and that they will be judged by their words and actions,” Davis said in a statement. “The abhorrent comments made by Donald Trump are inexcusable and go directly against what I’ve been doing in Washington to combat assaults on college campuses.”
“Junius Rodriguez is not a career politician and does not come from a political family,” reads Rodriguez’s website. Not your average candidate, Rodriguez spent 24 years teaching at Junius Eureka College and curRodriguez rently serves as board president for two different local organizations. Within these organizations, he works to provide support for youth and senior programs, individuals with special needs and with emergency shelter programs for women and children. “[Rodriguez’s] only allegiance will be to serving the best interests of residents of the IL-18th congressional district, not special interests. If elected, [Rodriguez] has promised to opt-out of the congressional pension system,” according to his website. In an online release, Rodriguez keys race relations as “the single most divisive issue in contemporary American political life in spite of decades-long struggles to advance the cause of civil rights and provide equitable opportunity for all.” He believes that dialogue is essential to progress since there remains to be unfinished business in this area.
Elected as congressman of the 18th District of Illinois in 2015, Darin LaHood is now running for re-election. According to his website, as congressman, “LaHood has worked to U.S. Rep. curb wasteful spending in Darin LaHood Washington and expand economic opportunity for Central Illinois. Additionally, LaHood has fought for policies that provide for strong National Security and support the strong agricultural foundation in the 18th district.” Before his time as congressman, LaHood served in the Illinois State Senate from the years 2011 to 2015. There, he worked to increase transparency as well as promote ethical behavior in Springfield. In regards to spending, in a statement on his website LaHood notes the government “has not been living within its means.” “Our national debt is $19 trillion and growing and we continue to have a government that spends, taxes and borrows too much,” according to the statement. “In Congress, I will continue to push to rein in spending in order to tackle the national debt, ensuring that our children and grandchildren are not forced to pay for the mistakes of our generation.”
compiled by MARY CULLEN and EMA SASIC | News Editors
Know your polling place
FAST FACTS Proposed Amendment: • Referred to as the Safe Roads Amendment or the Lockbox Amendment, the proposed item adds a new section to the Revenue Article of the Illinois Constitution. It states money collected for transportation services like driver’s license and registration fees would be reserved and only spent on those types of projects. • It is the only proposed constitutional amendment and the first item on the ballot.
Early voting: When: Now through Thursday Where: Apply at mcleancountyil.gov/countyclerk Source: mcleancountyil.gov/countyclerk
Polling places:
Map by Jeremy Burcenski Vidette Art Director
Your polling place is listed on your voter registration card. All students can also vote in the Bone Student Center.