Steans Wins Big Amidst Quiet Controversy in the 7th

Incumbent state Sen. Heather Steans easily held onto her 7th District seat in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election, with scant numbers of voters braving the cold and snow to choose her over challenger Jim Madigan.

Steans, who is currently serving her first senate term, tallied more than 13,900 votes, or 65 percent of her district, according to the unofficial election results. Madigan, an attorney from Buena Park who ran on a platform of reform, carried 35 percent. About one in four registered voters city-wide went to the polls.

Steans will now face Republican Adam Robinson in the Nov. 2 general election in the race to represent a diverse swath of the North Side encompassing Uptown, Lincoln Square, Andersonville and Rogers Park. But in the overwhelmingly Democratic city of Chicago, that party’s primary elections tend to be a good indication of who will inevitably win the seat.

Madigan, who would have been the first openly gay state senator in Illinois history, positioned himself as a reform candidate in a campaign season abuzz with anti-corruption rhetoric. Still, Steans’ win did not come as a surprise to most political insiders.

“(Steans) is the incumbent, she has a good bit of money, she had robo-calls,” said Dick Simpson, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “And she has the support of the Democratic committee.”

Campaign contribution records show Steans raised more than $220,000 in 2009; Madigan raised half that amount.

Steans kept a low public profile during her campaign, much to the chagrin of her challengers.

Robinson, whose campaign is focusing on lower taxes, school choice and – perhaps surprisingly – marriage equality, said Tuesday that he “applauded” Madigan for joining him in two candidate forums during the campaign. He added that “it was unfortunate that Sen. Steans declined both of those opportunities to address the issues.”

Steans declined requests for an interview.

Among the more controversial elements of the 7th District race, Madigan sent out a series of mailers criticizing the senator for giving more than $200,000 to the campaign of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich between the years of 2002 and 2007.

“If it had been television ads or maybe even radio ads with Blagojevich’s voice that had a more emotional impact, it might (have swayed the election),” Simpson said.

Andrew Hughes, a 27-year-old beer deliveryman from Ravenswood, said he voted for Steans despite the fact that he knew little about her. Instead, he went along with a flier listing Ald. Gene Schulter’s (47th) recommendations that he carried with him in his jacket pocket.

“I try to vote, because it’s all I can do. I’m a working person,” Hughes said. “But I couldn’t find any information … on most things, (politicians) are too vague.”

Steans, a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Universities, has worked for government agencies in Wisconsin and Illinois, serves as trustee of the Steans Family Foundation and formerly headed the board of WBEZ.

She won her senate seat in 2008 with the endorsement of former Sen. Carol Ronen, who abruptly resigned from the seat mid-term in October 2007.