Brad Schneider and Nancy Rotering
Democratic voters in the 10th Congressional District will decide in the March 15 primary election if they want to nominate their former Congressman or a suburban mayor to unseat Rep. Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) in the November 8 general election.
Former Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Deerfield) and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering have been running against each other for the job of representing the district for nearly a year with growing intensity since January.
Early voting for the primary began February 29.
Mail boxes and the airwaves have been filled with advertising, some of it negative, to distinguish themselves to the voters. They agree on many issues.
In a debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters February 28 in Highland Park, Schneider an Rotering were asked 20 questions and did not express a difference of opinion on any of the issues. When they debated February 2 in Deerfield the few differences were nuanced.
In an effort to help voters distinguish Rotering from Schneider, Daily North Shore asked them to share the paths they took to achieve where they are today and share the issues they consider most important for the people of the district.
Schneider spent most of his career before running for Congress in 2012 as a management consultant primarily helping family businesses. He also owned and operated a life insurance business. He has an engineering degree and a MBA from Northwestern University.
Dold was first elected in 2010 in a close contest with Dan Seals and lost the seat to Schneider by a percentage point two years later. Dold won it back over Schneider in 2014 in another narrow race.
Rotering, currently in her second term as mayor of Highland Park after serving two years on the City Council there, prepared herself for elective office serving on commissions in Highland Park as well as being active in the community while raising her children.
Before “stepping off the corporate ladder,” Rotering worked in finance at General Motors and practiced health care law. She earned an undergraduate degree from Stanford University, like Schneider, and Dold earned an MBA from Northwestern and a law degree from the University of Chicago.
Schneider Lists economy, education and gun violence as priorities
Schneider said his three priorities for the people of the district are growing the economy to strengthen the middle class, ensuring quality education for every child and reducing gun violence.
“We need to grow our economy from the middle out,” Schneider said in a Daily North Shore interview. “If our economy is growing in a robust, sustainable way, we will be better able to tackle the other issues we face as a nation. If our economy is less strong, these other challenges become all the more daunting.”
Rotering also lists economic development and education among her top three priorities for the district along with infrastructure and transportation. She said it is essential to keep businesses in the country and particularly Illinois.
“Congress needs to provide impactful incentives for our many businesses to stay in the U.S., not to mention Illinois, and ensure that a broad range of jobs are available, paying a fair wage for a full day’s work,” Rotering said in a Daily North Shore interview.
Adequate school funding is an important part of her education agenda, Rotering said. She also said she is concerned about making sure opportunities are available to all youngsters despite the difference in resources in a diverse congressional district.
“We must address the inequities in our educational system with federal and state resources to ensure that all children have educational opportunities that will allow them to succeed,” Rotering said.
Tied to economic development, Schneider said a quality education ensuring youngsters the ability to get a good 21st century job or achieve college success is what will assure prosperity for future generations. He also expressed concern over the cost of college.
“We have to address the high cost of higher education so that our young people don’t graduate with dream-crushing debt,” Schneider said.
Rotering Wants Long-term Approach to Infrastructure
Rotering said the country needs a long-term approach to improving transportation and infrastructure. She said the 10th District is a microcosm of the nation’s problems of getting around.
“Traveling east to west and vice versa in the 10th District is an exercise in daily frustration,” Rotering. “In addition to lost employee productivity, businesses also feel the impact as inadequate roads, rail systems and ports slow down the transport of supplies and manufactured goods.”
Gun violence is the third prong of Schneider’s top three list. He wants to ban assault weapons and large capacity magazines, close the gun show loophole, require universal background checks and make gun trafficking across state lines a federal offense. He said he also wants to address mental health related aspects.
“We have to look no further than the City of Chicago where more than 100 people have been killed by gun violence in the first two months of the year,” Schneider said. “Nationwide, it is 90 a day with two thirds taking their own lives.”
Though not among her first three issues for the district, Rotering said in both debates and in her advertising she is proud of the way she led the Highland Park City Council in its passage of its ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines. She said it is a top national priority.
Schneider said he is proud of some of his legislative accomplishments too. He introduced legislation to sanction Hezbollah and assure Israel maintains its qualitative military edge over its neighbors. The first passed 404-0 and the second 399-0 after he said he first developed relations necessary for bipartisan support.
“Passing these bills started long before the legislation was drafted,” Schneider said. “Building personal relationships with my colleagues was a huge part of these successes, when I introduced the bills they already trusted me and respected my expertise on these issues and it went a long way to the legislation passing in a bipartisan fashion.”
The 10th District includes all of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Highland Park, Deerfield and Highwood as well as parts of Glenview and Northbrook.