ENDORSEMENT: Gordon (Jay) Kinzler for Congress in 6th District Republican primary

Gordon (Jay) Kinzler is a kidney transplant surgeon who decided, at the greying age of 49, to join the military. It was a matter, he said, of doing his duty. Kinzler continues to serve as a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. He is a principled conservative of — in his words — “the glass half full kind.”

As president of the Glen Ellyn Park District Board and as a former chairman of the Department of Surgery at Elmhurst Hospital, Kinzler has had to find common ground with people whose lifestyles and views are not his own. “I’m a unifier by nature as a physician,” Kinzler says. “You take care of people.” Washington could stand more of that.

We endorse Kinzler, who could give the Democratic incumbent congressman, Sean Casten, a run for his money in November.

Also running in the Republican primary is former Illinois House member Jeanne Ives, who is not a unifier.

Illustration by Caroline Hurley

For more information about this race and others, including candidate questionnaires, go to our Illinois primary voting guide. Our newspaper is owned by a group of civic-minded and, in some cases, politically active investors; for details, see our owner information page.

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