Neil Steinberg
Chicago Sun-Times
October 4, 2006
In case you're tired of it
Last July Fourth, as we have for the previous six, count 'em, six fourths of July, my family and I attended the pancake breakfast in downtown Northbrook. A moment when the old leafy suburban paradise is at its leafiest and most paradisiacal. Bands play, trees sway, children chase balloons, and, after gorging on hotcakes and sausage, we retire to the bocce ball courts for a couple of games (and people claim I am not immersed in gritty urban realities!).
I had both cheeks filled with pancake, squirrel-like, when a man strolled over and introduced himself as Dan Seals. He is challenging Kirk's seat in the 10th Congressional District, part of the Democratic charge to close the 15-seat gap between Republicans and Democrats in the House.
Seals lives in Wilmette, is 35, a director at GE Commercial Finance. He has never run for office, but has three children, 6 years, 4 years, and 5 months, so he is already familiar with the intellectual level in the halls of Congress.
He cuts a good figure -- tall and trim -- and my first impression of him was the embarrassing thought: quite Obamaesque.
Later, I caught up with Seals. We've had Kirk for a while, I said to him, and he seems to satisfy the electorate and hasn't committed any crimes, which is not true of everyone in Congress. Why not just stick with Kirk?
"I would say he has been standing with the president when it counts; over 90 percent of the time he has voted the party line," Seals said. "I think our area wants and deserves an independent voice to represent it."
But the president has done some good stuff -- the invasion of Afghanistan, for instance. You'd expect a Republican to stand behind his commander in chief.
"He voted to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case," he said, and my gut twisted in cold revulsion. The federal government barging into that poor woman's hospital room was one of the grossest abuses of power since Rich Daley bulldozed Meigs Field in the night.
Seals is strong on not being a Republican, but I wondered what policies he would advocate if elected. I mean, Northbrook could use a permanent bocce ball court in its downtown park, but I really don't expect the feds to fund it.
"The biggest vote I will cast is for a new leadership," he said. "We're losing our system of checks and balances. It's time to start bringing more balance back, and while I do have issues I want to work on -- expanding access to health care and seeking energy independence -- the war is No. 1. The country's in the mood for change."
You can't argue that. Actually, you can: Kirk and Seals are going to debate at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at Stevenson High School.
