Four Democrats who hope to unseat U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald next year addressed the party faithful Sunday night, throwing their barbs at Republicans, not each other.
The candidates–former Chicago Board of Education President Gery Chico, Chicago businessman Blair Hull, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and state Sen. Barack Obama–each had five minutes to address the DuPage County Democratic Party at a $50-a-plate banquet in Lisle.
“We’ve been making some bad choices at the federal level, and we’ve also been making some bad choices internationally,” Obama told the crowd of about 220.
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For the local party organization of DuPage, having the speakers was a coup of sorts in a county known as a Republican stronghold. But with the Democratic sweep in the last state-wide election aided by large vote tallies in DuPage, the mood in Lisle was one of optimism.
Hynes, who lost DuPage County by half a percentage point before winning the November statewide election, said, “DuPage is a bastion of Democratic votes and is soon to be a Democratic stronghold. I believe that the tide has turned and momentum is on our side.”
“Previously, some Democratic candidates kind of wrote DuPage off, but they’re not doing that anymore,” said Carol Hill, the banquet organizer. “They really know that there’s a lot of energy here.”
Earlier Sunday, Fitzgerald spoke with about 300 members of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Burr Ridge.
Fitzgerald said he would have nothing to say about any of the Democratic candidates until after the Democratic primary.
The Democrats zeroed in on President Bush’s tax-cut plan and his positions on health insurance, education and America’s ongoing response to the threat of terrorism.
The war on terrorism is “because of Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, not Iraq,” Chico said to cheers. “We’ve lost our focus.”
Other Democratic candidates who did not attend the event include Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and Mayor Matt O’Shea of Downstate Metamora, a Republican who has said he would run as a Democrat.
While the candidates pledged unity after what could be a crowded March 2004 Democratic primary, Hull in particular tried to set himself apart.
A multimillionaire, Hull emphasized in both an interview and his short speech a life of past penury, including living on food stamps.
“I came from hard-working New Deal parents who lived from paycheck to paycheck,” he said.
The Coptic church where Fitzgerald spoke is made up predominantly of families from Egypt, where the Coptic Christian religion is based.
Fitzgerald was invited to discuss the religious discrimination Christians face in Egypt, the Middle East and elsewhere.
On the prospect of war with Iraq, he said, “What is needed is not more time, but for Saddam Hussein to cooperate.”