Down the ballot is a race no one pays much attention to, but it is a source of immense power in our state, the State Central Committee, whose members are the Board of Directors of the Democratic Party of Illinois. While you may consider yourself a member of the Democratic Party of Illinois, it is these elected committee members who hold all the power.
This includes the power to fill vacancies in office. But more importantly, it includes the power to decide who the Democratic Party will endorse, and who will benefit from the full weight of the Democratic organization — money, mailers, campaign workers, infrastructure, databases — tools that get their preferred people elected, tools that make or break political and judicial careers.
In the last election cycle, four committees associated with the Democratic Party moved $25.2 million between themselves and candidates.
An odd fact in the election of Democratic Committee members is that we elect one man and one woman. On this ballot, the two men running are Oak Park’s own Tim Thomas and Chris Welch, the Speaker of the House.
Welch not only controls the House as the Speaker, he also controls his personal political committee, Friends of Chris Welch, and the Democrats for the Illinois House PAC. According to Capitol News, in the last election cycle, using these two committees, Welch moved $11 million to candidates he favored.
Should we elect him to the State Central Committee, giving him more power — the power to control the Illinois Democratic Party? Or should the power of the Democratic Party belong to the people? A vote for Tim Thomas of Oak Park is a vote to distribute power back into the hands of the people.
Source:
Simone Boutet
Oak Park
