Eye On Illinois: Clerk notes it’s ‘responsibility of citizens to participate in democracy’

DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek took a tempered victory lap last week, noting her county had the highest consolidated election turnout in a small field. At 20.33%, DuPage beat out Kane (17.42%), Will (16.64%), suburban Cook (13.81%), Lake (13.64%) and McHenry counties (13.5%).

“There’s plenty of room for turnout growth,” Kaczmarek acknowledged. “I vow to continue helping citizens to not take their precious right to vote for granted.”

The state elections board doesn’t have full totals available, but numbers do appear up over 2021. However, they’re nothing compared to a presidential cycle. In 2020, the turnout was DuPage, 76.55%; Kane, 73.7%; Will, 75.1%; all of Cook, 72.2%; Lake, 69.37%; and McHenry, 69.65%.

The disparities came to mind when reading Russell Lissau’s Daily Herald reporting Monday regarding political donations. Although the analysis specifically focused on Lake Forest’s Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, and how their investment in Congressional campaigns basically no longer involves Illinois, the data includes other people who spend seven or eight figures trying to influence outcomes in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, I looked up the quarterly report for my county board member. She reported no receipts or expenditures and has less than $10,000 on hand. My state senator was a little busier, and had $114,205 as of March 31. But a village trustee, not up for election in April, has less than $400.

“A top priority of mine has been to increase voter turnout,” said Kaczmarek. “In order to achieve that, voter access must be optimized. I wanted citizens to be tripping over voting opportunities.”

She’s doing her part, but opportunity alone doesn’t drive interest.

Here, Kaczmarek deserves the final word: “Ultimately it is the responsibility of citizens to participate in democracy.”

ON THIS DAY: Since starting this column I’ve made a habit of looking up birthdays of notable Illinois natives from at least a century ago, and May 3 is bountiful: Beulah Bondi was born in Chicago this day in 1889. Twice nominated for Best Supporting Actress, she’s perhaps best known for playing Jimmy Stewart’s mother four times, including in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Another well-known actress, Quincy native Lucile Langhanke, was born in 1906 and known as Mary Astor when she played Brigid O’Shaughnessy in “The Maltese Falcon.”

In the world of music, renowned organist Virgil Fox was born in Princeton in 1912, while jazz pianist John Lewis was born in 1920 in La Grange. And in sports, six-time World Series champion and 1967 Hall of Fame inductee Red Ruffing was born in 1905 in Granville. Ruffing excelled as a pitcher, but historians wonder what might’ve been of his career had he not lost four toes in a 1920 Coalton mining accident.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.