BLOOMINGTON — Tackling mental health and providing affordable housing options were among the priorities identified by candidates vying for McLean County Board seats in the three districts that encompass a majority of the town of Normal.
Solutions proposed by the candidates have ranged from stronger fiscal planning to additional collaboration between local governing bodies. Voters now have less than a week to decide which candidate is most in touch with the needs of Normal.
The fourth district, which covers the west side of Normal, has four candidates: Republicans Jerry Klinker and Steve Harsh and Democrats Krystle Able and incumbent Jim Rogal.
Klinkner said the biggest issue facing McLean County residents is the controversial SAFE-T Act, which was passed in 2021 with some elements going into effect Jan. 1.
One of the most polarizing pieces of the new law is the elimination of cash bail. Instead, local circuit judges must consider whether an individual is a flight risk or a danger to the community when determining pretrial detainment for anyone charged with a forcible felony that is not eligible for probation.
“I would address this problem by fully supporting the sheriff’s department and voting to provide that department with the necessary personnel and equipment to protect our citizens,” Klinkner said.
He added that the county lacks clear support for its sheriff’s department, and although there are some on the county board that want to reduce their budget, he would work with board Republicans to support the department.
Harsh did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rogal, who serves on the land use and transportation committee as well as the property committee, said McLean County is seeing a lot of the same issues that are occurring nationwide, such as a need for affordable housing and access to mental health services.
Part of the the county’s issue has to do with its planning process, he added.
“For too long, the county board goes from fiscal year to fiscal year without a clear plan for the county,” Rogal said. “We react to new businesses wanting to come here, we react to staffing issues (and) we react to long-term construction and infrastructure needs.”
Although emergency funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Rebuild Illinois program have led to the advancement of long-overdue projects, Rogal said the county needs to embrace technology and green energy and create a human resources office so there can be a long-term plan moving forward.
Able said the county must make it a priority to invest in health care and housing, noting about 10.7% of the county’s population currently lives in poverty.
At the county level, Able said she would make sure the board utilizes programs that would help to expand housing in a responsible and affordable way such as advocating for infill developments rather than expansion.
“In addition to housing, McLean County is lacking mental health professionals,” Able said. “The recent McLean County Community Needs Assessment for 2020-2022 indicated a high level need in our community for access to care, behavioral health including mental health and substance abuse, and healthy eating/active living.”
In August, the county board rejected the appointment of Able to fill the remainder of the term of Matt Coates, who resigned from the county board to serve on the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Opponents were critical of her stances on law enforcement.
In response, Able had said she will advocate for all first responders to have the funding and tools necessary to do their job and respond to emergencies in the community efficiently and safely.
Both board members representing McLean County’s fifth district, which covers most of the eastern side of Normal, are seeking re-election and face a challenge from GOP candidate Hannah Blumenshine.
McLean County Board Chairman John McIntyre said the county’s issues always have to do with keeping taxes in line and having a balanced budget.
“It’s my goal, I think, as chairman always to see that we’ve kept a pretty steady tax rate for the people,” McIntyre said.
By working together, McIntyre said the board has been able to draft and revise a mental health initiative and action plan. It took another step forward in its fight for mental health by dedicating 35% of its cannabis tax revenue to support community-based behavioral health services.
“I think I bring not only experience to the board that is needed, because there is so much to do and learn for new people on the board,” the Republican chairman said. “I think I bring that (and) I think I also bring the experience that I’ve had knowing county board has been successful over the years by working together and trying to work on issues that affect all people.”
Incumbent Democratic board member Elizabeth Johnston said a lack of housing is the most pressing need facing the community. And because of an unbalanced state of supply and demand, assessments have to accommodate higher market trends, which can affect homeowners’ property tax bills.
“The housing need also directly impacts our employee pool,” Johnston said. “Insufficient housing is likely a deterrent for potential applicants considering a move to our community (and) living in hotels for months on end is not ideal or desirable.”
Immediate and long-term solutions to addressing these issues at the county level could be to facilitate collaborative efforts of our local governing bodies to support a range of housing development options, continue investment into renewable resources and support local manufacturing, she added.
Blumenshine could not immediately be reached for comment.
In the sixth district, which includes Illinois State University, two students are vying for a spot on the board alongside incumbent Democratic board member Beverly Bell.
Although housing is an issue, Bell said there is a need to protect the county’s farmland in the future and not necessarily engage in urban sprawl.
However, she added there should be more mixed-use development on the outskirts of subdivisions. By having small- or medium-sized apartments near the county’s single-family housing, it could give lower income residents the incentive to own their own house down the road.
McLean County also could do a better job of maintaining its nearly 2,000 miles of roads, especially heading into the Rivian Automotive plant, Bell said.
“I would like to see us do more construction and repairs in the evening hours,” she said.
ISU students Eduardo Monk, who is running as a Republican, and Jack Henry Abraham, who is running as a Democrat, both could not be reached for comment.
Voting
Early voting still is available at the McLean County Government Center, 115 E. Washington St., for voters that live outside of Bloomington. It is open for early voting between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday through Nov. 4.
Bloomington voters can cast their ballots at the Bloomington Election Commission office, 121 N. Main St. from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
A brief visual history of how midterm elections changed Congressional control since FDR
A brief visual history of how midterm elections changed Congressional control since FDR
Since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s sweeping four-term presidency, every president has fallen victim to the “midterm curse.”
The “curse” is considered political shorthand at this point—the opposition party to the incumbent leader will wrest control of the House of Representatives or the Senate from the leadership. In fact, the sitting presidential party has lost seats in the House in every single midterm election since FDR’s first term, save for three: FDR himself in 1934, Bill Clinton in 1998 during his second term in office, and George W. Bush in 2002 fresh off a hotly contested victory in the 2000 general election. In each of these instances, the presidents had remarkably high approval ratings—around 70%—often due to historic moments that offered an opportunity for landmark leadership, such as FDR’s New Deal, Clinton’s federal budget surplus, and Bush’s handling of the aftermath of 9/11.
There are a variety of explanations as to why parties often face defeat in the midterms after sweeping the floor in the presidential election. Voter apathy and presidential approval ratings play a large part, but voters are not the only ones who sway the outcome of elections. Midterm elections are susceptible to impacts from the re-drawing of districts and gerrymandering that may occur after a presidential election and can work to disenfranchise a party’s voting block. This is not a phenomenon isolated to the U.S., either: The parties of political leaders across the globe tend to strengthen early in a presidential term before diminishing later.
With the 2022 midterm elections fast approaching, it can be helpful to look back at the past century of midterms and gauge what patterns may suggest an outcome to this year’s election. Stacker used data compiled by The American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the U.S. House of Representatives to visualize outcomes of midterm elections on the president’s political party in Congress.
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The President’s party has only gained seats in the House three times since 1934
The incumbent party lost control of either the House or the House and Senate six times since 1934. Only three presidents—FDR, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush—gained seats in the House of Representatives for their parties at midterms.
In FDR’s case, this was thanks to his swift decisions steering the country out of the Great Depression, including the New Deal and various economic relief measures. Clinton’s second term in office marked the first Democratic president to gain a second term since FDR. Though his popularity was beginning to falter due to emerging personal scandals—including the Monica Lewinsky situation, which saw Clinton face impeachment for lying to Congress—it hadn’t yet hit the low that would follow. Bush’s midterms were a narrow race to win an easily swayed power balance, marked by gerrymandering and expensive campaigns that ultimately favored the incumbent party.
The Senate has faired similarly
Statewide Senate races are not impacted by redistricting but still often suffer the same outcome for the president’s party. For most of the 20th century, Senate races were often won by the opposite party than the state in question had gone for in the presidential race. In 1986, for instance, the “mismatch rate” of U.S. Senate races was around 59%, meaning over half of states voted into office senators of the opposite party than they had voted for president most recently. This has waned in intensity recently—particularly during Obama’s presidency—but still generally held. However, the 2022 election cycle may mark a departure from this tradition, with only 4% of registered voters claiming they planned to vote for a senator from a different party than they had endorsed for president.
Presidential approval rating is often the clearest predictor of seat changes
Midterm elections tend to be considered referenda on the party in power. As a result, the electability of Congressional members is increasingly tied to the public’s attitude toward the president. Swing seats have consistently gone to the nonincumbent party when public approval of the current president is low, and the inverse when the public believes their administration is doing well.
Since FDR’s presidency, presidents with a low public approval rating have lost an average of 37 congressional seats during midterms. Only two presidents—Bill Clinton and George W. Bush—have had a public approval rating above 60% during midterm elections; consequently, they have been the only two presidents in recent history to avoid the “midterm curse.”
Voters may be motivated more to turnout when their party is not in power
Voters generally turn out in lower numbers for midterms than for presidential elections. In the 2010 and 2014 midterm elections, respectively, only 4 in 10 eligible voters turned up to the polls, whereas 6 in 10 voted in the 2016 general election. However, the drive to overturn the actions of an unfavorable president can be a powerful antidote to voting apathy. A good example of this was the 2018 midterms, in which, according to an analysis by Catalist, “young voters and voters of color, particularly Latinx voters, were a substantially larger share of the electorate than in past midterms.” These voters were majority Democrats, voting in opposition to the Republican incumbent, Donald Trump. That year, midterm surge voting leaped up, and it was “clear that both mobilization and persuasion were critically important in producing this scale of victory for Democrats.”
What does this mean for 2022?
In sum, the 2022 midterms will likely follow the patterns laid out here. All seats in the House of Representatives are up for the taking and a third of those in the Senate. President Joe Biden’s approval rating—40% as of Oct. 20—is on the lower end of historical midterm rates for an incumbent president, suggesting that, if historic precedent holds, Republicans will gain seats on Nov. 8. However, some factors may exert outside influence on the midterm results.
The Democratic Party has been experiencing the same mobilization that spurred a midterm surge during Trump’s presidency, this time regarding issues such as abortion rights and inflation. Voters in Kansas recently turned up in record numbers to vote down measures that would restrict abortion access; elsewhere in the country, local and state legislatures have taken up steps and earmarked funds protecting the right to choose in repudiation of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
On the other hand, Republican-sponsored extremists are doing what they can to stem this tide, threatening election workers so convincingly that there is a feared shortage of people to work the midterms. Moreover, one recent poll suggests that Democrats’ momentum may have begun to stall, particularly among women, who in 2018 turned out to vote in greater numbers than men
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