News-Gazette Endorsement
For Congress: Rep. Tim Johnson
October 31, 2006
U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, represents an enormous congressional district - more than 10,000 square miles - with a cornucopia of interests. On the north side of his district, higher education and agriculture are priorities. But as one moves south and gets into more rural areas where voters still vote Democratic because their great granddaddies did before the Civil War, you enter a region where voters are more interested in jobs (yes), abortion (no) and guns (yes).
It's a district that demands a hard-working representative (it's nearly 250 miles from South Streator on the north to Old Shawneetown on the south), independence and attention to a lot of issues and interests - manufacturing, coal mining, oil refining, railroads, transportation, small business, labor unions, veterans health care and more. Now 60 years old, Tim Johnson still has the energy and enthusiasm to both serve in Washington, D.C., and to represent the 654,000 or so people in the expansive 15th Congressional District.
His opponent, as in 2004, is Dr. David Gill, an emergency room physician at Dr. John Warner Hospital in Clinton. Gill is a likable man, who has devoted an incredible amount of time and effort for more than a year to upsetting Johnson. He has spoken passionately on a number of issues, from his opposition to the war in Iraq to his support of universal health care to his endorsement of an all-out war on global warming. Gill has even done an extraordinary job of raising money in a district that re-elected Johnson two years ago with 61 percent of the vote. The latest reports show that Gill has raised $210,443 to $320,225 for Johnson.
The two are not that far apart on some issues. While Gill has been opposed to the war in Iraq from the beginning and wants troops withdrawn soon, Johnson has come to a similar position. He said he wants U.S. troops out of Iraq "as soon as possible," and doesn't want to be discussing the issue again in two years. He and Gill also hold similar positions on gun laws and on the need to promote coal, biofuels and other alternative energy sources.
But we still believe that Tim Johnson is more in step with the values of the people of the 15th District - limited government, opposition to abortion, a significant focus on education issues. Johnson has won endorsements and accolades from groups as diverse as the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters to the National Education Association and the National Right to Life Committee. He's won an unusual amount of support, and campaign contributions, from labor unions.
Still, we urge Johnson to make use of political connections in the White House and in Congress to benefit his district. Two areas in particular - the redevelopment of the old Chanute Air Force Base property in Rantoul, and the proposed FutureGen power plant (which could be built either in Tuscola or Mattoon) - warrant special attention by Johnson and Illinois' congressional delegation. Both FutureGen and long-overdue help to the village of Rantoul for its efforts to redevelop Chanute should be at the top of Johnson's to- do list for the next two years. And the congressman should continue to work with officials from the University of Illinois and other institutions of higher education to bring more federal funding to his district. Increased federal dollars in recent years have helped make up for some of the decline in state funds.
