Tom Kacich: Champaign County, state in sync in presidential voting
Sep. 29—As goes Champaign County, so goes Illinois.
For the last 15 presidential elections — all the way back to Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater in 1964 — the candidate who won Champaign County also won Illinois. The chosen one in Champaign County (and Illinois) isn't always the national winner — Gerald Ford in 1976, Al Gore in 2000 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 are exceptions — but most of the time, they are.
The last time Champaign County and the rest of Illinois weren't in sync on a presidential election was in 1960, the famous Kennedy-Nixon race when Kennedy took Illinois with 49.98 percent of the vote to Nixon's 49.80 percent. Nixon got 61.2 percent of the vote in Champaign County, even though Kennedy had campaigned on the University of Illinois campus two weeks before Election Day.
But Nixon had been Dwight Eisenhower's vice president, and Eisenhower arguably was the most popular Republican president in Champaign County's history, winning with 67 percent in 1952 and 61.2 percent in 1956.
The 60-year evolution of Illinois from a politically divided state to a deep blue state is matched by Champaign County's own transformation. In 1976, for example, Republican Ford won Illinois (50.3 percent) and Champaign County (54.7 percent). But by 1996, Democrat Bill Clinton won both Illinois (54.32 percent) and Champaign County (49 percent). And in the last presidential election — for the first time ever — a Democrat did better in Champaign County than statewide. Joe Biden got 59.71 percent in Champaign County to 57.54 percent statewide.
The county and the state weren't always so closely matched. They've differed nine times in the 48 presidential elections since Champaign County was founded in 1833. Between 1912 and 1948, they were at odds for four of 10 elections, primarily over Franklin Roosevelt and his vice president. While Illinois went with FDR all four times he appeared on the presidential ballot and also with Harry Truman in 1948, Champaign County supported Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 and no more. It gave Thomas Dewey nearly 61 percent of the vote in 1948.
Between 1860 and 1908, Champaign County always voted Republican, and always with greater fervor than the rest of the state. That streak ended in 1912 when Republican-turned-Progressive candidate Theodore Roosevelt won the county with 35.6 percent in a three-way race. Republican William Howard Taft was third with 25.6 percent.
Look for Champaign County and the state to be in parallel again this November, likely giving Kamala Harris a comfortable victory. Donald Trump has averaged just 39 percent of the vote statewide in two elections. In Champaign County, his average of 36.67 percent is the worst-ever for a Republican presidential candidate.
Clem-Schweizer race
The 104th Illinois House District race between incumbent Republican Brandun Schweizer of Danville and Democrat Jarrett Clem of rural St. Joseph is beginning to attract big contributions from the state parties, House caucuses and other groups. Just a few months ago, Schweizer had just $14,783 on hand and Clem had $124,670.
In recent weeks, the Illinois Republican Party and the House Republican Organization have put more than $180,000 into the Schweizer campaign that went toward digital ads, printing and mailing, staff and polling. On top of that is about $10,000 worth of contributions from other House Republican lawmakers, $6,000 from a Fraternal Order of Police local in Chicago, and $3,500 from Danville Mayor Rickey Williams and his wife.
Clem, meanwhile, reports about $150,000 from the Democratic Party of Illinois and Democrats for the Illinois House, most going to digital ads and mail pieces. He's also received about the same sum in contributions from labor unions, plus $10,000 from the Washington, D.C.-based Budwinski political action committee affiliated with U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield.
Schweizer and Clem are running in a district that includes parts of rural Champaign County plus Danville and parts of rural Vermilion County. It has been represented for decades by Republicans including Reps. Bill Black, Chad Hays and Mike Marron, but has edged closer and closer toward the Democratic Party.
Rare White Sox victory
This has been a brutal season for fans of the Chicago White Sox, with the club setting a new modern-day baseball record for most losses in a season.
But the Sox will always be winners in the Illinois license-plate battle.
The White Sox are by far No. 1 among professional teams in Illinois, with 32,391 specialty plates. Way back in second place is the Chicago Blackhawks (17,094), followed by the Cubs (13,460), Bears (9,785) and Bulls (4,758), and the St. Louis Cardinals (4,343).
There are even more White Sox specialty plates than University of Illinois license plates (6,473). In fact all the collegiate license plates together (Notre Dame, Illinois State, Northwestern, Bradley, Eastern Illinois and others) can't come close to the White Sox's total.
The Sox are the top pick in the city of Chicago (7,894 plates to 2,244 for the No. 2 Blackhawks) and in Cook County (9,922 to 4,737 for the Blackhawks), but their popularity doesn't end there.
The South Siders also are the No. 1 professional sports team plate in Champaign County (392) over the Cubs (222), Cardinals (146), Blackhawks (94), Bears (80) and Bulls (45). There are, however, more University of Illinois plates (1,025) in Champaign County.
Vermilion County is a different story. The Cubs (63) barely edge out the Cardinals (62), with the White Sox third (28), followed by the Bears (26), Blackhawks (25) and Bulls (10). There are 80 UI specialty plates in Vermilion County.
