Lake County Gazette

MUNDELEIN — Not only should a recall election of Democratic Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel be allowed, but all elected state officials should face similar accountability measures at the hands of voters, Dawn Abernathy, GOP candidate for the 59th House District, told the Lake County Gazette.

“It is about giving the power back to the people of Illinois, not just in Chicago, but in Illinois as a whole,” Abernathy, a Mundelein trustee, said. “We need to reform Illinois.”

House Bill (H.B.) 4356, filed by State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Dist. 8), would establish a procedure for an election to recall Emanuel. Abernathy is among more than a dozen legislative candidates who have signed on to a statement from the Chicago-based Illinois Opportunity Project (IOP) in support of the proposal.

The IOP statement specifically calls on the General Assembly and each candidate’s opponent “to protect the families and children of Chicago and empower them with the ability to recall” Emanuel.

“There should be a way to hold all officials accountable, myself included,” Abernathy said.

“If the people of Mundelein wanted to be able to do so -- if I had done something they felt was wrong and so wrong that I should be removed from office -- there should be a mechanism for residents to do that,” Abernathy said.

Pointing out that H.B. 4356 is non-partisan legislation, Abernathy said she wished “we had it here in Mundelein.”

Abernathy said Emanuel is doing nothing for the people of Chicago and is simply part of the Windy City political machine.

“He is doing nothing for education, he is doing nothing for the families or businesses of Chicago, and they should have the right to have a mechanism in place that will hold their elected officials accountable,” Abernathy said.

Likewise, the 59th District's incumbent State Rep. Carol Sente (D) “is part of that same Democratic machine that has been ruling the state for 30 years and running it into the ground,” Abernathy said of her opponent.

Sente reportedly won’t support H.B. 4356, Abernathy said. “We need new leadership.”

Sente did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.