By Miriam Y. Cintron

In the 10th District, incumbent Annazette Collins is looking to hold onto her post, in which she has helped expand mammogram coverage for women ages 18 and older who do not have health insurance. She also supported increased funding for preschools and the Monetary Award Program for college students.

Collins supported legislation creating drug courts in every county in the state and worked on legislation raising the age of majority from 17 to 18 to prevent teenagers convicted of a misdemeanor from having a criminal record, which would hurt their chances of getting into college or landing a good job in the future.

If re-elected, Collins would work to expand small businesses to create jobs, create entrepreneurial opportunities for ex-convicts, and address the state’s budget deficit. She also aims to address common interests among the district’s diverse residents–including health care, housing, and public safety.

She has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, State Sen. Ricky Hendon, and many local unions including the Service Employees International Union.

Collins received a BA from Northern Illinois University and an MS in criminal justice from Chicago State University. She is on the Public Utilities, Human Services, Public Safety, State Government Administration, Government Accountability and Streamlining, and Managing Sex Offender Issues Committees.

Candidate Jonathan Goldman has spent the past 20 years doing advocacy work for nonprofit organizations to help the environment, public health, education, and conservation. Goldman, who also runs a consulting business called Advocacy Inc., has witnessed firsthand just how bad things have gotten in the state legislature, but because he has been able to effect positive changes from outside government, he now hopes to do so from within.

Goldman, if elected, would “restore fiscal sanity” and not let the state’s budget deficit continue to get worse, he said. The solution likely will involve some kind of tax increase as well as putting aside partisan debates. “The country is about to witness an economic revolution built on reducing pollution and addressing global warming,” Goldman noted.

Illinois should become a leader in environmentally friendly technology, “as green jobs will likely dominate in the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, improving education will involve creating preschool and after-school programs, recruiting effective teachers, and supporting school innovation. Goldman noted common sense gun control is needed to stop gun violence in Chicago.

A lifelong resident of the district, Joseph Sneed understands the area’s business community, as his mother owned a restaurant there and his father owned a construction company. His history influenced his campaign’s main platform: small business. According to Sneed, a national study showed 64% of new jobs come from small businesses, and he hopes to bring more small business to the district. Expanding local small businesses would address many other issues, he said.

On the district’s West Side, residents must venture out of their neighborhood for basic needs such as groceries because the area lacks needed businesses.

“My plan is to change that,” said Sneed, who supervises investigations at the City of Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. Small businesses also are more willing than bigger businesses to hire ex-offenders, which theoretically would keep them off the street and prevent them from committing more crimes.

Bringing in more small businesses also would expand the tax base and generate revenue to help close the state’s budget gap. He also believes banks should be required to implement loan modifications allowing people to keep their homes; in return, banks could possibly receive tax credits.

In regard to criminal justice, Sneed said that non-violent criminals need to be treated differently from violent offenders, particularly since maintaining prisons accounts for so much of the state’s budget. He proposed programs for non-violent offenders to teach social and job skills.

Mable Taylor, an attorney who has lived on Chicago’s West Side all her life, has volunteered as an instructor for Chicago Legal Advo cacy for Incarcerated Mothers at Cook County Jail and with First Defense Legal Aid. She is a former chairwoman with the Major Adams Community Committee and board member for the Westside Holistic Family Center.

If elected, Taylor would work for equal funding for schools and tougher gun laws. She said non-violent criminals should be sent to rehabilitation rather than prison because it costs the state $33,000 per year to maintain each criminal in prison; such a move would help cut the state’s deficit.

Funding for mass transit and more transparency in ethics reform also occupy Taylor’s list of priorities.

Keith D. Muhammad is a lifelong resident of the East Garfield Park/West Humboldt Park area. The outreach coordinator for a nonprofit organization, Muhammad also has been a board member with the Greater West Town Community Development Project, Polaris Charter School, and West Town Bikes. He served as a task force member for the Humboldt Park New Communities Program, president of the Kells Park Advisory Council, and co-chair of the Central Park TIF Advisory.

Chicago Police Department officer and sergeant Eddie Winters’ top priorities are legislation to keep guns off the streets, protecting senior citizens from predatory lending, and fighting for funding for after-school programs and other children’s programs.

He supports an income tax increase and a service tax to help address the state’s budget gap. He noted state retirees and employees should not have to pay more for health care, nor does he believe pension benefits should be reduced for new state employees.

Winters has volunteered with the James Jordan Foundation and Salvation Army. He earned a BA from Roosevelt University.