# Information on the political races that don't get any airtime

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/information-on-the-political-races-that-dont-get-any-airtime/468567>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 18, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/information-on-the-political-races-that-dont-get-any-airtime/468567 "2008-10-18T21:47:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/information-on-the-political-races-that-dont-get-any-airtime/468567/1 "2008-10-18T21:47:00Z")

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Hoping someone can point me to an online resource or two so I can research the other races that are happening on Nov. 4.

[This is my sample ballot.](http://www.chicagoelections.com/nov2008ballot/es203.pdf) (PDF) The main ones are US and IL Senate and House, States Attorney, and Clerk of Court. I have no real idea what the Water Reclamation Commissioners even do, or what kind of platform is even necessary for a Recorder of Deeds (it sounds like a glorified file clerk, so I’m not sure how politics even apply).

I have a [cheat sheet](http://www.voteforjudges.org/) for the judges retention elections already.

I would strongly prefer resources that give a basic outline of the candidates’ platforms and/or voting records on the big issues – something like a cheat sheet that I can easily compare.

For those who don’t want to look at the ballot, start with Dick Durbin/Steve Sauerberg/Kathy Cummings (US Senate); Rahm Emmanuel/Tom Hanson/Alan Augustson (US Rep); Heather Steans/Tom Durkin (IL Senate); Gregory Harris (State Rep… only guy running, but I’d like to know who he is).

Thanks.

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**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/information-on-the-political-races-that-dont-get-any-airtime/468567/2 "2008-10-18T21:55:36Z")

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One place to go in Illinois is the Independent Voters of Illinois.  
[http://www.iviipo.org/2008\_GE\_Endorsements.html](http://www.iviipo.org/2008_GE_Endorsements.html)  
They always make a list of recommendations that you can use if you don’t want to wait until a day before the election when it shows up in the papers and in the Reader.

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**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/information-on-the-political-races-that-dont-get-any-airtime/468567/3 "2008-10-18T22:22:50Z")

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Oh yeah, forgot about them.

It’s a start, but aside from the fact that they say nothing at all about people running in my districts for IL Senate and House (or US Senate either, which is weird), I’d like to see the platforms for myself, since I’m likely to weigh issues a bit differently than an organization of people I don’t personally know. 😛

(Seriously, they’re not endorsing _anyone_ for US Senate? That’s really weird…)

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/information-on-the-political-races-that-dont-get-any-airtime/468567/4 "2008-10-19T04:04:54Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> (Seriously, they’re not endorsing anyone for US Senate? That’s really weird…)

The pollsters are listing that race as 100% guaranteed for Durbin (the Democrat). So they might not think it’s worth bothering with.