Editor’s note: Wednesday Journal/Austin Weekly News is following Ford he prepares to move from Springfield to the national stage in Washington D.C. come January. This is the first installment of that coverage. 

La Shawn K. Ford is feeling the pull of both the past and the future as the Labor Day weekend heralds the final stretch of the election season. 

In January Ford is virtually guaranteed to take Danny K. Davis’s seat in the U.S. Congress, and he is keenly aware of the historical weight of taking the place of an iconic figure with 50 years of public service. 

On the morning of Governor’s Day at the State Fair in Springfield, as he walked over to the Illinois State Capitol Building, coffee in hand, Ford reflected on his 20 years of public service in the Illinois House and his thoughts on the new challenges awaiting him in Washington.  

Ford is the prohibitive favorite to win in November against 88-year-old Kane County Republican Chad Koppie, who does not live in the district.  

“I don’t like parties,” Ford said unsolicited, smiling and rolling his eyes just a bit at folks who left receptions at 9 or 10 the night before and headed out for another watering hole. It’s simply not his style.  

“I do the work and go home,” he said. A huge part of that work, he said, involves people. 

“It’s all about relationships,” Ford said as we walked past the Stratton Building where he has his office. “I’m working on maintaining the relationships I’ll need in Washington.” 

People and relationships are subjects that come up naturally with Ford. There is a reason Davis, a man with more than half a century’s experience challenging unjust and exclusionary systems, endorsed him early ahead of a crowded field. Asked what counsel Davis has offered him, Ford said Davis doesn’t rely much on words.  

“I just watch how he behaves,” Ford said. “He’s more of a teacher by example. He makes comments and suggestions about what he sees. That’s his way of telling me what to expect.” 

Davis, Ford said, makes a point of listening to people. The moderates, the political middle, Ford said, “have to listen to everybody.” 

The interior of the restored Illinois State Capitol building is all stone and brass and marble and burnished wood, with reflected light and color all about, an environment with as deep a sense of place and permanence as any in Rome or London. 

Sitting on a simple bench overlooking the ornate brass railings of the Capitol Rotunda, Ford spoke of the tension in governance between making needed changes and maintaining the structures that have been built by others; the tension between the liberal impulse to challenge what’s wrong and make changes, and the conservative desire to preserve what’s been built. 

It’s not a binary choice for Ford, who sees value and purpose in both, even as he works for change. He also sees negatives in both; a tendency on the left to tear down useful structures and abandon effective practices, a tendency on the right to protect structures and practices that are unjust or that no longer serve a just purpose.   

“I think that conservatives for the most part think our democracy is already perfected,” Ford said. “Where liberals say, no, we need to make some changes.” 

“The liberals say, ‘We’re not being inclusive. We need to make change.’ That’s what liberals are, a big tent, making sure that we perfect our democracy.” 

“The difference between the far left versus the far right, when it was the Tea Party, is the Tea Party wanted to take us back to days that were shameful for America, it wasn’t inclusive,” Ford said. “I’m a progressive liberal that believes that our democracy needs to be changed to be more inclusive and fair.” 

While he’s not a member of Democratic Socialists of America, Ford said he appreciates the energy and drive they bring to the political process.  

“They want to push our system, to challenge it,” he said. “And I find that to be necessary. I think that’s what makes our democracy move, because you’ve got people pushing, pushing, pushing.” 

“I believe the DSA can push the moderates to do more. We’ve got to swing big, we gotta make sure we get healthcare for all. We have to make sure we’re able to change the tax system so that the wealthy billionaires pay more. And the only way you’re going to do that is you have a force that’s going to push it.” 

Where Ford differs with the DSA is in his approach to the reality of government in a two party system. He is committed to working for change not only in the streets, but in the suites. 

“Many times it takes years and years to effect change,” he said. Change requires “a well-rounded democracy” that combines experienced political leadership and the insistent energy of people like the DSA. 

He refuses to apologize for the need to push hard for changes to a still imperfect union, saying, “Dr. King said we can never be satisfied.” 

“There’s no way we could have been emancipated without radical fights,” he said. “No way we could have used public bathrooms or sat at the front of the bus without radical involvement. These changes in our democracy came because of radical involvement.”  

But you can’t score if you’re not on base, and while Ford is committed to swinging for the fences on some issues, he also celebrates the infield singles that help set you up to score.