Tuesday’s primaries won’t just determine the nominees of each party in the November general election.
How you vote also will go a long way toward answering these six burning questions about Chicago and Illinois politics:
1.) Do Illinois Democrats want to replace that rich guy they don’t like with an even richer guy?
For four years, we’ve heard about how awful it is to be governed by “Billionaire Bruce” Rauner, the Republican neophyte who has to pretend to drop his g’s at the end of every gerund just to seem like a normal Midwesterner with less than nine homes.
ANALYSIS
Then the Democratic powerbrokers anointed multibillionaire J.B. Pritzker in his first campaign for governor. If voters nominate Pritzker, then they believe the Democrats’ only course of action now is to fight fire with fire.
2.) How far to the right have Illinois Republicans actually gone?
For many in what’s mostly been a blue state, Rauner is too far to the right, including in his policies that target unions.
But to many who once supported him, he’s a sellout who hasn’t been conservative enough. The likes of rich businessman Richard Uihlein and GOP provocateur Dan Proft have turned against Rauner and turned to Jeanne Ives.
State Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, speaks at WTTW’s Republican gubernatorial forum on Tuesday. | Screenshot from WTTW livestream
She’s the Rauner challenger who has been more willing to play the sort of cards that have worked so well for President Donald Trump in other states — such as South Dakota, where Ives was born.
3) Does the Kennedy name still inspire voters?
After years of toying with the idea of entering electoral politics, Chris Kennedy, a son of Robert F. Kennedy, finally took the plunge, running for the Democratic nomination for governor.
Now it’s perhaps all too obvious why he’s waited so long. He’s not a great campaigner. The Kennedy campaign’s fundraising has lagged while Pritzker has invested nearly $70 million of his own money into the race.
Kennedy himself says he’s not all that into politics, after all. We’ll see Tuesday whether voters are at all into Kennedy the politician.
4) How far to the left have Illinois Democrats gone?
On the campaign trail, Kennedy has sought to position himself far to the left of Pritzker, as has the third Democratic primary candidate, Daniel Biss.
Even Pritzker wants to claim the mantle as the “progressive” candidate in the primary race, despite his endorsement by Democratic Party regulars.
Marie Newman and Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill. | File photos
But the contest that will provide possibly the best answer to this question is the primary between U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski and Marie Newman. Her supporters are looking to punish Lipinski for being one of the most conservative Democrats in Washington.
5) How much did the pop tax pop the Toni Preckwinkle bubble?
Not long ago, it was widely believed that Preckwinkle was so popular she could easily defeat Rahm Emanuel, if only she wanted to run for mayor.
Her only goal, she now says, is to serve just one more term as Cook County Board president.
Bob Fioretti, during his 2016 run for the Illinois Senate. | Rich Hein/Sun-Times
Her popularity may be far less than it was before county commissioners bent to public pressure and repealed Preckwinkle’s tax on sweetened beverages, which she never has ceased defending.
If she were that unpopular, though, you’d think she would have more primary rivals besides former 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti.
6) Is the machine finally dead now?
In title at least, Joe Berrios is the boss of the Cook County Democratic machine.
We’ve been told so many times over the decades that the machine no longer exists — only for it to continue to churn out more patronage-addicted public servants like Berrios.
Cook County assessor Democratic primary candidates Andrea A. Raila, left, and Fritz Kaegi met with the Sun-Times Editorial Board Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. File Photo. | Rich Hein/Sun-Times
The machine will have to be firing on most cylinders to help the party chairman win another term as county assessor. Even many Democratic committeemen have defected and now back Berrios challenger Fritz Kaegi.