WASHINGTON—Here’s a rundown on where Illinois lawmakers stand on voting to authorize President Barack Obama to order a military strike against Syria in the wake of evidence of the government using chemical weapons against its civilians.
Based on my discussions with the members or their spokesmen the status as of Sept. 11:
Updated Updated
YES
Republicans
Sen. Mark Kirk
Rep. Adam Kinzinger
NO
Republicans
Rep. John Shimkus who is a West Point graduate and a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves.
Rep. Peter Roskam, who as Chief Deputy Whip is part of the House leadership.
LEANING YES
Democrats
Sen. Dick Durbin. He voted Wednesday to advance to the Senate floor the resolution giving Obama approval for the strike.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky who told me, “I’m gettable.”
Rep. Bill Foster, who wants to see final language in the resolution and get more detailed information.
LEANING NO
Democrats
Rep. Tammy Duckworth said Monday she would not support the resolution passed out of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. She is not a hard no.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez
Rep. Danny Davis
Republican
Rep. Rodney Davis
Rep. Randy Hultgren
UNDECIDED/KEEPING OPTIONS OPEN
Republicans: Rep. Aaron Schock
Democrats:Rep. Robin Kelly, Rep. Dan Lipinski, Rep. Mike Quigley, Rep. Cheri Bustos, Rep. Bobby Rush, Rep. Brad Schneider, Rep. Bill Enyart.
UNKNOWN
Rep. Danny Davis, a Democrat, is traveling in the United Arab Emirates and will not be returning until Friday. The Davis trip is sponsored by the U.S.- Arab Chamber of Commerce, according to his office.
Rep. Peter Roskam, a Republican who is part of the House leadership.
My guess:
Davis is a member of two groups with a lot of reservations about Syria—the Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus. Based on that, I see Davis trending to the lean no category.
Roskam is carving out a niche on Israeli defense. He is a chief co-sponsor of the United States-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation Act of 2013, which, according to a Roskam op-ed that ran in the Jerusalem Post “authorizes further assistance and cooperation for these critical systems. This legislation underscores the mutually beneficial joint venture of developing these cooperative programs with Israel and helps ensure their continued inclusion in future authorization bills.”
Most of the major Jewish-American organizations have come out in favor of strike authorization. Based on all of the above, I see Roskam leaning yes.
