The 14th U.S. Congressional District in Illinois was redrawn to include McHenry County and parts of DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, and Will counties (see map below). Republican Randy Hultgren, who was first elected to represent the 14th district in 2010, will run for re-election. For a time it looked like a lively campaign between Hultgren and Joe Walsh, who had planned to challenge Hultgren. Walsh will instead seek re-election in the redrawn 8th district. Hultgren will be unopposed in the Republican primary.
Dennis Anderson, a public health researcher and trustee of the International Breast Cancer Research Foundation; and Jonathan Farnick, a computer support technician, will seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Hultgren.
 Dennis Anderson Dennis Anderson is running for the Democratic nomination for the newly redrawn 14th Congressional District in Illinois in the March 20th, 2012 Primary Election. His career was spent most recently working in university-based cancer research. Prior to moving to Gurnee in 1996, he worked for the University of Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, managing a program investigating the causes of breast cancer. From 1996 until 2009, he was with Loyola University Chicago’s Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, where he served as the Center’s Assistant Director for Research Support, providing assistance and support to physicians and laboratory researchers in identifying, obtaining and managing resources critical to the conduct of their work. After working briefly at Northwestern University in 2009, he returned to Loyola and has been retired since late 2010. Dennis’ early career was in public health, working for the Wisconsin Division of Health in Madison. He began in 1978 by directing a short-term project in school-based child health screening, after which he worked as a budget and management analyst and as a program and management policy advisor. He also managed several State health programs, including the Adult Health Program, the Rural Mammography Program, the Chronic Disease Program, Refugee and Immigrant Health, and Disease Cluster Investigation. While with the Division of Health, Dennis also served at various times on such bodies as the Division’s Affirmative Action/Civil Rights Compliance Committee, as Liaison between the Wisconsin Division of Health and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and as a member of the Association of State and Territorial Chronic Disease Program Directors. Dennis believes in the value to the community of citizen engagement and volunteerism. Over the years he has committed himself to community service in a number of ways. At present, Dennis is on the Board of Directors of the International Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Board of Directors of the Literacy Volunteers of Lake County. He is also a volunteer with the Friends of the Warren-Newport Public Library in Gurnee, serves as a volunteer adult education tutor with the Literacy Volunteers of Lake County, and is a member of the Gurnee Rotary. Past service includes membership on the Boards of Directors of the Dane County (Wisconsin) Humane Society and of the Southern Wisconsin Foodbank, Inc. He served on the U-CARE (HMO) Grievance Committee in Madison, and as a mayoral appointee on the City of Madison Ethics Board. Dennis was Graduated with Distinction from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in Economics and Political Science. He attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin in Public Administration and at Loyola University Chicago in Theology. Dennis and Susan, who have been married for 38 years, have lived in Gurnee since 1996. |  Jonathon Farnick Jonathan Farnick is running for the Democratic nomination for the newly redrawn 14th Congressional District in Illinois in the March 20th, 2012 Primary Election. He believes that we need more and better Democrats in elective office and that this will bring a positive, needed change for this country. The major obstacle that has to be addressed is this country’s $15 trillion national debt. We will shortly come to a point where we cannot afford the programs that we need, let alone the programs that we may want. It won’t matter if you are left or right, Democrat or Republican, progressive or conservative, independent or partisan: there will come a time that there is no money left for whatever you may want or expect the Federal Government to do. We got into this mess because of overspending in many areas on one side of the ledger and constantly lowering taxes, and therefore revenue, on the other side. Some spending cuts and the raising of some taxes need to be done to address this. Born in upstate New York, son of a World War II veteran from the Bronx, NY and a immigrant from Germany who moved to this country when she was 17 to live the American dream, Jonathan moved with his family from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to Ohio, then to Michigan for schooling and where he met his future wife, and then on to Illinois in 1991. Melissa and he have been together for 22 years, were married 11 years ago, and this upcoming Leap Day will be celebrating their 3rd wedding anniversary. Together they have a 19 year old son who graduated from public high school and is now in a local college. In 2002 bought their first house in Woodstock, IL. A computer systems support consultant, Jonathan worked on various projects at Fortune 50 food company in Northbrook for four and a half years, then on to what would become a wholly owned subsidiary of a Fortune 100 conglomerate in Des Planes for five and half years, and now with that same technical staffing company, Technisource, Inc. and is starting a new year still working on a project at Fortune 50 drugstore company, in Deerfield. Jonathan has never before held elective office nor has he been on a ballot. In past elections he was a write-in candidate for the then 8th Congressional District; and submitted nomination papers to be placed on the ballot in other primary elections, only to have objections lodged that were successful in removing his name, and therefore a choice, for the voter. He again was challenged for this upcoming election, but was successful in having the objection withdrawn. NO FACEBOOK |
Editor’s Note: This is the second of many posts about the March 20, 2012 Illinois Primary. DeKalb County Online will provide a steady stream of information about the contested races in the Primary Elections. Emphasis of course is on the local races. Share your comments. questions and tidbits about the races using our comments.
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