Democrats are bankrolling a blue wave they hope will wash three Republicans out of the Cook County Board.
Despite the flood of money — nearly $313,000 in a combination of donations from the county and state Democratic parties — incumbent Commissioner Gregg Goslin doesn’t expect to lose in Tuesday’s election.
The Glenview Republican is confident in his polling — and in his constituents.
“I believe I represent the values of my district on every level,” Goslin said. “They want a good, responsible government, a limit on taxation, and a responsible public official. I’ve been all those things and then some.”
Democrats are targeting three of the four Republican incumbents on the County Board, pumping more than $300,000 into each of the races.
The money is coming from the Cook County Democratic Party — which is chaired by Board President Toni Preckwinkle — and the state Democratic party, making for contentious races in some townships that Democrat Hillary Clinton carried in 2016.
Two of the Republican targets also hold party positions. One is Preckwinkle’s counterpart in the Cook County GOP, and another is head of the state Republican Party.
The only Republican commissioner Democrats are not targeting is Peter Silvestri, the former mayor of Elmwood Park.
The belief among the Republicans is that Preckwinkle, through her powerful side gig is looking to create a County Board not only more in line with her Democratic vision and plans for the county should she lose her mayoral bid and remain president. She is unopposed in next week’s election but is part of a growing field of mayoral contenders.
Preckwinkle’s Cook County Democratic Party has kicked in nearly $288,000 of the money that’s gone to Democrat Scott Britton, an insurance lawyer challenging Goslin. Goslin called the sum “obscene.”
Despite the bankrolling, Britton says he’s his own man though he’ll likely agree with Preckwinkle because they’re part of the same party.
“Nobody owns me,” said Britton, who went to Preckwinkle before running. “I’m almost 58 years old — I’m not looking to make this a career for the rest of my life, I can pretty much do whatever I want.”
Democrat Kevin Morrison, who is challenging incumbent Republican Tim Schneider, has received close to $315,000, with all but $50,000 coming from the county Democrats, but he pointed to the money going to his opponent as the real problem.
“I’m getting a lot of attacks by dark money groups, and my opponent has spent $190,000 in false attack ads against me,” Morrison said. “The residents deserve better. They need to know who’s putting contributions down and … it shows that [the Republicans] are worried.”
Schneider, who is also the chairman of the state GOP, said it was “unfortunate” how much money has been put in his race because “when people pump so much money into an election it can change the belief system of what you’ve accomplished.”
Out in the southwest suburban 17th District, Sean Morrison of Palos Park, also faces strong opposition from the county and state Democratic parties funneling money into the coffers of his opponent Abdelnasser Rashid.
Rashid, who helped Frederick “Fritz” Kaegi win the party’s nomination for assessor in March and who has worked with outgoing Cook County Clerk David Orr, said despite the funds, he’s beholden to no one.
“I’ve been an independent my whole life,” said Rashid, who has received over $311,000 total from the county and state Democratic parties. “I’m proud of my record of fighting for the values and issues that I believe in. I’m the Democratic nominee, it’s expected that the party would support me.”
Commissioner Sean Morrison, who is the chairman of the county GOP, says he’s trying to be steady and consistent with his messaging now to counteract being “outspent three or four to one.”
“I feel good about my message — it’s positive, based on my record, what I’ve accomplished and what I intend to accomplish,” Morrison said, adding that he’s confident in his polling. “We’re going to keep out there and keep chugging along. My message is based on actual accomplishments — maybe out of desperation [the county Democrats] are pumping money into the race … but we’ll see come election day. If I lose, it’s not from lack of trying.”