The battle for the 26th District.

I just saw this. The election is only a few hours away, but it's worth reporting here from N'Digo. Most of us here are familiar with this race and the players involved and perhaps even the issues that sparked it. I wonder who'll pull it out tomorrow.

The primaries are here and the issues are beyond relevant. One of the hottest races this election cycle rests in the heart of Bronzeville, Woodlawn, and Kenwood-Oakland communities.

The race in that area for the Illinois House's 26th District State Representative seat is diverse, deep with talent, and commitment to community and family values. With Ald. Howard Brookins’ bid for State’s Attorney and Sen. Barack Obama going for it all, this election is more than typical Chicago machine politics.

The passing more than two years ago of Louvanna Jones, who held the 26th District seat for over two decades, created a void that was filled by her longtime loyal aide Elga Jefferies, a Wendell Phillips graduate and grandmother of four. In her first challenge for the seat, Jefferies is in a fierce battle to advance for another term.
...
The electorate of the 26th District has changed dramatically over the last decade. It encompasses a rich list of assets including: McCormick Place, Navy Pier, the Gold Coast, and Soldier Field. It also would be at the center of a winning bid for a 2016 Olympics.

The demolition of public housing has scattered and depleted the traditional voter base in the district. Combined with educated and economically viable voters who now reside in the community, this race is extremely interesting as they augment the nascent political consciousness in the revamped Bronzeville, Woodlawn, and Kenwood-Oakland neighborhoods.

Enter Ed Smith, who cut his teeth in Chicago politics when Harold Washington challenged to become the city’s first African American mayor, is running for the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. “We seek to create a mission in the office to modernize and computerize the office fully and deliver service expeditiously," Smith tells N’Digo. Obama's national race has created fervor unseen since the Washington days on a local level he adds. Smith believes the younger vibrant candidates who seek elected office have a larger responsibility after their races, even if they lose. "They can't come into the business and lead if they win, or walk away if they lose. They need to stay in the process and bring other young people in."
...
The candidates are in the homestretch now, urging their supporters to turnout the vote on February 5. Concerned citizens may boost voter turnout on election day around the critical issues in the district. In addition, with Obama’s name on the ballot, and record absentee ballots already cast, votes should surge.

Initial polling had Phillip Jackson ahead in December. There’s a question as to whether he has the resources to deliver on election day, but Jackson says, “What we have found out in our campaign is that billboards don't vote; this will be decided in the street.”

At a fundraiser at Blu 47 restaurant in Bronzeville, Johnson is accompanied by supporters and young professionals –– the same ones who know him from his experiential marketing social-events for the Richmond Group. They are encouraged to see his gumption to stand up for something.

“I know Kenny Johnson and want to support him because he really wants to be in politics,” said one of his supporters. The event isn’t something new for Johnson, just the brand he’s pitching now is himself, and the consumer is his potential constituent.

Johnson participated in the “Boston Tea Party” this fall –– a staged protest to demand accountability regarding the proposed tax increases the county and city were presenting to balance the budget. “Somebody had to take a stand regarding those excesses, and enough was enough, especially taxing bottles of water,” Johnson remarked.

At an A+Illinois forum regarding education, all the candidates discussed the issue with vigor at Martin Luther King College Prep in front of students in the Kenwood-Oakland community. A school that just over a decade ago was at the bottom of the barrel academically, based upon state standardized test scores, King College Prep is now considered a South Side Whitney Young.

The debate opened with Jackson exclaiming the school was born on his watch. Johnson talked about his mother who was a principal, Burns his work as an aide in Springfield. Jefferies read prepared statements.

The budget issues in the state will likely become more unbalanced in the next term, extending from a slowing national economy and diminishing equity in homes. These events ultimately erode constituents’ ability to fund education reform, which is central at leaving kids behind.

On 47th Street, with blue lights flashing overhead in the darkness of the night, I approached more than a dozen African-American men who can be considered left behind by education policies.

The majority was voter age, so I asked them about the elections. “We good homie...we good,” one guy said, looking at the passing squad car and playing an intense game of cat-and-mouse with the CPD. None made a comment and were even hostile to questions about politics or the candidates.

However, after rehashing the question, one of them shouted “Jobs, that’s what we need –– jobs!” They all immediately dispersed when the squad car circled back. The police concerned them, too.