Illinois First

I have searched for something to bridge the divide between myself and the chief executive of the state ever since he was elected Governor. It has finally happened. We agree on something.

J.B. Pritzker thinks Illinois should supplant  Iowa as first primary election test for presidential elections. Illinois couldn’t possibly screw up an election worse than the Democrats did in the Hawkeye State. Why not start here?

Illinois is a microcosm of the country. We are diverse. We have heavily populated areas with people who don’t have a clue. We have expanses of poorly populated areas.

Most of all, it would mean we would have a vote that counts. It doesn’t right now in general elections. My conservative vote is drowned out by four clueless votes from Chicago.

If you look at a color-coded state map with red representing counties which are Republican-leaning,  Illinois is a red sea. The blue counties are in the populated counties around Chicago and St. Louis. The blue counties rule by virtue of their overall population.

I’d like to have a say. Usually, the presidential nominees have been decided by the time we get to vote in a primary. Being first would be a privilege. A privilege forfeited by the incompetents who ran the Iowa debacle.

Pritzker is not alone in wanting to explore pushing up the state’s primary date. He has a willing partner across the aisle. The Illinois GOP came out last week in support of the Idea.

So let’s do it.