I’ve been a resident in the 11^th district for many years, and in that time have seen several different people act as my representative in the House of Representatives.  Until now, I have not been represented by anyone who I truly believed supported my views and those of other progressive thinking people in this district. For the last two years, we’ve had to suffer with Adam Kinzinger, who like most ultra-right representatives, voted consistently to support big business and pretty much did what the Koch Brothers and their ilk demanded. He signed the Grover Norquist pledge and by following that, he helped cause the gridlock that led to the reduction in the US credit rating.

In the upcoming primary, Democrats have the opportunity to choose a candidate to challenge Judy Biggert. Ms. Biggert lives in Hinsdale, which isn’t even part of the 11^th District. She can run in the 11^th, though, because Illinois law allows it. However, I think it’s quite a stretch to imagine her being an effective representative of the people of the 11^th.

On the Democratic side, we have three contestants. Mr. Hickey is from Orland Park, again a town not even in the district. I, for one, will not vote for anyone who lives outside the district. Mr. Foster, who recently moved to Naperville, is also running. According to information I’ve read, he is considered to be a “Blue Dog Democrat,” which means that he is on the conservative side of the Democratic Party. The ONLY truly progressive candidate, in my opinion, is Juan Thomas, and I am strongly encouraging everyone I know in the district to vote for him.

Mr. Thomas lives and works in Aurora, which IS within the district. He is the only candidate actually from the district. He was born, raised and educated in the district. Because he is progressive, he believes in putting people first. In fact, the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressman Raul Grijalva, has endorsed him. Like many of us, he is appalled by the fact that salaries for the corporate CEOs have grown by over 35 percent in one year, while income growth for the middle class has essentially remained stagnant. In a word, he supports the middle class. He believes in fair wages for work done. He is opposed to many of the techniques used to underpay workers, and has promised to work to correct these kinds of problems.

I encourage everyone to visit Juanthomas.com and read more about him. In upcoming blogs, I intend to provide more information about his position on critical issues, how he plans to represents us in Congress, how he intends to handle his local offices, etc. In essence, if you’re in the middle class or would like to be, Juan Thomas should be your choice for the House of Representatives.