Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin (1st), an Oak Park resident, has announced the formation of an exploratory committee to consider a potential race for the U.S. Senate in 2016. The 30-person committee — which comprises clergymen, practicing attorneys, former and sitting elected officials and a host of businesspeople — will be chaired by Deno Andrews, owner of Felony Franks in Oak Park.
News broke yesterday that Boykin is considering a possible Democratic primary campaign to unseat sitting U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R), who Boykin supported during the latter’s 2010 bid for the senate. Boykin said he’ll conduct a statewide listening tour before making an official announcement in September.
As executive director of the Rescue Foundation, Andrews leverages Felony Franks to provide ex-offenders with job training and employment opportunities. Boykin has been outspoken about prison reform and mental health funding in Cook County jails.
But Andrews, whose hot dog restaurant relocated from Chicago last year, said his relationship with Boykin grew from their mutual opposition to the one percent sales tax hike that recently passed the Cook County board. Boykin was an outspoken critic of the tax increase and Andrews testified against the increase before the board in the run-up to the July vote.
“The commissioner and I had a couple of conversations [about the tax increase] and soon afterward, he asked me to consider chairing his exploratory committee,” Andrews said.
Andrews said he was also drawn to Boykin’s idea to embark on a listening tour across Illinois before formally announcing whether or not he’d run.
“I really like his message of taking the next month of doing a listening tour of Illinois instead of forming a platform on his own,” Andrews said. “He really wants to see what the people of Illinois are calling for. I like that approach. It suggests he’s open to what people have to say.”
Andrews said it’s too early in the process to know where exactly Boykin would be stopping on those tours. He said members of the exploratory committee have had preliminary conversations, but will meet on a more formal basis in the coming days.
Although this would be Andrews’s first foray into chairing a political committee, he’s no stranger to boards. Since 2010, he’s served on the Oistrach Symphony Orchestra’s board of directors, once serving as the board’s chairperson. He’s a board member for the Sugar Beet Schoolhouse, a nonprofit organization that educates consumers about healthy dietary choices and the local food system. From 2005 to 2011, Andrews was a member of Oak Park’s Board of Health.
Although Boykin has stated that he’ll formally announce whether or not he’ll run for the U.S. Senate in September, he’s already established the contours of a full-blown campaign.
Along with announcing the formation of his exploratory committee, Boykin also released what he’s called a “Letter to the People of Illinois,” in addition to a YouTube video message, on his website — www.boykinforillinois.com.
When asked to gauge his confidence about a potential Boykin senate campaign, Andrews said he was more focused on the task at hand.
“I think it’s important not to put the cart before the horse. He’s committed to this listening tour and he cares what the people of Illinois will say. He’s committed to the doing this tour before making a decision.”