6th Congressional District Race: Casten Vs. Ives

CHICAGO SUBURBS, IL —The fight to keep the Illinois Sixth Congressional District in the blue has been a heated one as Sean Casten and Jeanne Ives have traded barbs in recent weeks over social media and through their campaign ads, as well as in debates. Casten, the first-term Democrat, flipped the longtime red district to blue in 2018 after defeating six-term Republican Peter Roskam.

And now he’d like to keep it that way.

• Casten Unseats Roskam To Flip Illinois District 6 In 2018

Ives, a Wheaton mother of five who ran right of Gov. Bruce Rauner in the 2018 gubernatorial primary and nearly won, has called out Casten in recent weeks for skipping a Chicago Tonight debate and for online posts by or of Casten where he ridicules others or raps about politicians "unwilling to say anything to alienate their base" and that "base," which is "racist and science-denying and loony."

“If you don’t like Trump’s Twitter feed, then you are going to hate Sean Casten’s Twitter,” Ives said during the Chicago Tonight debate. “So Sean Casten, his Twitter feed is a Dumpster fire.”

Meanwhile, Casten has tweeted about Ives and other Republican on the ticket this election as making up a “crazy fringe." The scientist, and former owner of a clean energy business, is a strong backer of environmental initiatives, focused on issues surrounding climate change and says focusing on science, and initiatives backed by public health experts, is our way forward during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The party that got their base to disbelieve the science of climate and infectious disease is now being captured by a crazy fringe,” Casten posted on Twitter earlier this month. “And here's the thing: there isn't a single senior @GOP official with the political talents or moral fiber to stop it.”

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He’s gone further, slamming her overall character.

“The homophobia, the racism, the cruelty that has infected so many of her public statements, it’s who she is,” Casten told the Chicago Tribune.

• 'Racist, Sexist, Homophobic' Jeanne Ives TV Ad Provokes Backlash

But beyond the trash talking, their overall views couldn’t be more different. The nuts and bolts issues of debates between the two candidates have centered around COVID-19 and the economy.

Regarding a universal mask mandate, Casten said during a recent debate hosted by WGN, that countries, like New Zealand, don’t have a vaccine but have seen coronavirus numbers drop due to widespread mask usage.

“We should live in a society where people look out for their fellow man and woman, we are now at a position where we have to have a conversation of should we mandate that people do things that are in the interest of public health,” Casten said.

Ives called a universal mask mandate “outrageous.”

“You are telling adults how to live their lives … masks are fine when you need to use them, you use them. When you don’t need to use them, you don’t use them,” she said during the WGN debate. “This is ridiculous. You are treating adults like children.

If elected, Casten said he’d like to see widespread contact tracing and testing become a reality. Providing resources for those who need to quarantine, is also a priority for him.

“We have passed bills on the house floor to do that but we have not had a cooperative executive branch to put that in order,” Casten said during the recent interview on ABC 7 Chicago.

Regarding a stimulus package currently being debated in Congress, Ives slammed Casten during the WGN debate for bills he backed, including "massive bailouts." She said the country needs “targeted relief” and the reopening of private industries.

She added piling on more debt is not the answer. And she pointed to neighboring states that have opened up instead of using taxpayer money to keep things up and running.

She's hoping her anti-tax stance is going to help win the district back for Republican.

‘In this district we like our private sector healthcare. We like the tax cut and jobs act, which saved the average family $2,000 in this district, and overall, saved this district $166 million. And we don’t want to go back to higher taxes and more government control,” said Ives in Sunday’s interview with ABC 7.

Casten has been taking to Twitter in the days before the election to encourage those who haven't —though tens of thousands of ballots have already been cast via mail-in ballot and from early voters — to get to the polls. He's also continued to push his stance on environmental initiatives and need for "following the science" when making decision about COVID-19.

Ives has been out visiting businesses. In recent weeks, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced additional mitigations for restaurants and bars putting an end to indoor service amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, she's been showing her "support" and talking with owners.

The candidates have also claimed their values line up with those of the 6th District. For Ives, her anit-tax stance is among those.

‘In this district we like our private sector healthcare. We like the tax cut and jobs act, which saved the average family $2,000 in this district, and overall, saved this district $166 million. And we don’t want to go back to higher taxes and more government control,” Ives said during an ABC 7 interview.

And Casten hopes he can continue moving some of the work he started during his term forward, which included work on the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and efforts to protect and expand healthcare, Casten said during the WGN debate.

“I ran because I did not want to be represented by a president who politicized science, amplified divisions, and celebrated ignorance," Casten said regarding his 2018 run for the seat. "I didn’t have any prior experience in government —I spent 20 years as a scientist and then an entrepreneur building and running companies —and it was a heck of a time to get into this line of work, to put it mildly, but I’m really proud of what we did this cycle."

Independent candidate Bill Redpath is also running for the seat in the Nov. 3 election.

• 6th Congressional District Profile: Bill Redpath - Patch

The 6th Congressional District includes portions of McHenry, Cook, DuPage, Kane and Lake counties and includes Palatine, Algonquin, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Bartlett, Crystal Lake, Cary, Elgin, Downers Grove, Naperville, Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Glen Ellyn, Fox River Grove, Oak Brook, Wheaton and St. Charles.

More On Patch

• Casten, Ives Spar Over COVID-19, Values Of 6th District Voters
  
• Casten, Ives Break $1M In Contributions In Third Quarter: Report
• 6th District Primary: Casten Unopposed; Republican Race Heats Up
• Rep. Casten Rap Video Draws Criticism From Ives' Campaign
• Jeanne Ives Sets Sights On Casten's Seat In 2020