We had the pleasure this past Saturday of attending the opening of Ben Lowe’s campaign headquarters in Lombard. Ben, of course, is the Democratic candidate challenging Peter Roskam in the Illinois 6th Congressional District this fall. We had a chance to meet briefly with Ben and his campaign staff, but only briefly as turnout was great and Ben and his team took time to meet everyone. As on our first visit, we were very impressed with Ben and amazed at what he has accomplished running a campaign on a shoestring.
Notably, as Ben spoke to the crowd, he announced a pledge to accept no corporate or PAC donations, but rather to run his campaign solely on donations from individual concerned citizens. This is is a tough way to go, but we were pleased as we have plenty of experience of what it is like to have a Congressman beholden to big corporations and industry lobbies.
Peter Roskam, in contrast, has raised $1,343,340 in the current cycle (and still we got an email message pleading for “a generous contribution of $100, $250, $500 or more” at the end of the 2nd quarter). Over $600,000 of that is PAC money, with the largest chunk coming from the financial sector, followed by healthcare and energy industries.If you want to know how Roskam will vote, just follow the money. He has voted against increased regulation in the financial sector & against health reform legislation opposed by the healthcare industry. Roskam opposes legislation to combat the threat of catastrophic global climate change that is opposed by energy industries and has lobbied against increased regulation of hazerdous coal waste.
It is clear that if we are to resolve our nations most pressing problems, we must replace legislators like Peter Roskam, who obstruct progress in the interests of corporate sponsors, and replace them with people of integrity who are not bought and paid for by the multinational corporations.
Fortunately, we in the 6th District are blessed to have such a candidate in Ben Lowe. But Ben needs our help. He is entirely dependent on concerned citizens to help get his message out. We hope that you will consider making a contribution to Ben’s campaign and/or helping the campaign out as a volunteer or by hosting an open house to help Ben get to know your friends and neighbors, or by putting up a yard sign. You can make a donation online at Ben’s website. You can contact Ben’s campaign by phone at (800) 630-0684.
We can make no progress in putting the unemployed back to work, in preventing catastrophic climate change, in ending our dependence on fossil fuels, or in reigning in Wall Street corruption unless we throw out legislators like Roskam who cater to corporate interests. Please help Ben win in November.





