ENDORSEMENT: John F. Morrow for Congress in 2nd District, Republican Primary

If simply demonstrating a passing grasp of the issues sets you apart from the pack, as it does in this Republican primary, our endorsement must go to John F. Morrow.

The 2nd Congressional District, which runs from the South Side of Chicago through Kankakee County, has sent only Democrats to Washington since 1953. Morrow, a business client manager, says he once was a Democrat himself, but grew tired of the way the party views African-Americans only as “a needy people.”

He generally is a centrist in his policy positions, favoring a quick path to citizenship for the “Dreamers” who came to the U.S. illegally as small children; further limits on the sale of military-style weapons, and improvements to the Affordable Care Act. Morrow would allow Americans to take half of what they pay into the Society Security fund and invest it on their own.

Also running are Patrick Harmon, a former Hazmat team trainer who lives in Barrington — outside the district — and professional pet portrait photographer David Merkle, who lives in Bourbonnais.

When the Republicans running in the 2nd Congressional District primary visited the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board on January 25, we asked each to introduce themselves to voters. Here was John F. Morrow’s response:

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