CHICAGO, January 11, 2018 – In a crowded field of Democratic candidates seeking to replace Attorney-General Lisa Madigan, Sen. Kwame Raoul won one of the major political plums, when the AFL-CIO voted to endorse him for Attorney-General.
The endorsement of the powerful union, could mean a lot to Raoul’s candidacy, in terms of both financial contributions, and help in running a campaign through November. Among the eight candidates running for Attorney-General in the Democratic primary, are former Illinois Governor, Pat Quinn, and state representative Scott Drury, as well as former State Board of Education Chairman, Jesse Ruiz. There’s Sharon Fairley, former head of COPA, Chicago’s police oversight agency; Highland Park Mayor, Nancy Rotering, former Assistant US Attorney, Renato Mariotti, and Aaron Goldstein, an attorney who once represented former Gov Rod Blaogjevich.
Following the endorsement by the AFL-CIO, Sen Raoul issued the following statement, “The Illinois AFL-CIO works hard every day to ensure that their membership and their families are treated fairly and I couldn’t be more honored to receive their endorsement. As attorney general, I’ll be with them in the trenches to fight against those who seek to do them harm. Whether it’s attacks from the Trump White House, Bruce Rauner’s Department of Labor, or rogue employers, I’ll be the voice of the people,” said Raoul.
In 2004, Kwame was appointed to fill the vacancy left in the 13th Legislative District by former State Senator Barack Obama’s election to the U.S. Senate. Sen Raoul was the floor leader on a number of significant issues over the last several years, including handling the Senate vote to eliminate the Death Penalty in Illinois, which was successful.
He’s championed a number of causes of interest to organized labor and in pursuing laws to protect all workers of Illinois including by increasing tougher penalties for wage theft by rogue employers. He’s also worked to raise the minimum wage.
When Gov Rauner came into office, Sen Raoul worked with the Governor on the initiative to lower the state’s prison population by 25% over a 10 year period.
