Lake County Gazette

Former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran views Illinois state Rep. Sean Casten's (D-Downers Grove) public support for an impeachment inquiry directed at President Donald Trump as a perfect example of everything that presently plagues U.S. politics.

“I think it’s reflective of the partisan world people live in,” Curran told the Lake County Gazette. “Sean Casten and [Rep.] Jan Schakowsky [D-Evanston] are probably two of the most liberal members of Congress. Ultimately, they don’t represent the majority of Americans nor those in their districts, especially Casten. But it is the nature of the far left.”

With the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee admitting that Casten faces one of the 44 toughest reelection campaigns in the country next year among House Democrats, Curran thinks he knows what might be motivating the freshmen lawmaker's actions and those of others in his position.

Former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran

“He has no interest in the president getting any wins,” he said. “He’s not going to bring any legislation to his desk that could make him look good. At the end of the day, he’s serving his own personal interests instead of the people.”

Casten has been joined in his support by Schakowsky, which Curran admits is at least a bit more understandable.

“Schakowsky is from such a liberal district that if you were to poll residents, they would probably say ‘yes’ to impeachment,” he said. “With Casten, it’s more about his own world view and him being so liberal he can’t help himself.”

Critics point out that Casten's actions are far removed from the candidate that ran on a platform of climate change and reforming health care, gun laws and campaign finance. Curran argues that there are many more issues residents in his 6th Congressional District are more concerned about.

“Taxes are a big problem and many are wondering what can be done to provide property owners more relief,” he said. “I would love to see an immigration bill, and I would like to see Congress engaged in foreign policy, educating us as to what action we should be taking.”