March 20th was a state wide primary day in Illinois. While following the primary, memories of a significant political race from my past began to resurface. It was the Illinois Comptrollers race of 1990. I remember being a senior in high school and candidate Dawn Clark-Netsch stopped by my high school. It made an impression on me to see her using crutches. It was like wow, a person with a disability running for a state wide office. Ms. Clark-Netsch won the election and was Illinois comptroller from 1991-95. How impressive was that?
However, 20 years later I realized the bigger meaning of the race, the challenger to Dawn Clark Netsch, Sue Suter, was also disabled and used crutches. I found this out from a camp reunion, I led. Ms. Suter was a camper at my camp. As a person with a disability I was surprised to find two people with disabilities ran against each other. While I have researched, I only found this to be the sole race of two persons with disabled candidates from the major parties challenging each other in a state wide election. I do wonder why this interesting piece of history is not better known in the disabled community.
As we think about elections and whether political figures really care, we need to realize it is up to us to step up. Vote and be heard. I often wonder why this race is not talked about more. We need to unite and become a more significant voice in the political process. That way, we can all march forth together.
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