Politics & Government
Suffredin Re-Elected 13th District Cook County Commissioner
On a successful evening, Democrat makes a push for early voting.
As incumbent Larry Suffredin won his third term as 13th District Cook County Commissioner Tuesday, he called to rally Democrats together in the face of national GOP victories.
"Our job is to give people an understanding of the consequences if we don't win and to get them to remember the empowerment they felt two years ago when President Obama was elected," Suffredin said during a results party at Evanston's Firehouse Grill restaurant.
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The Evanston resident won roughly 65 percent of the votes, according to the Cook County clerk website. The 13th District serves many of the lakeshore communities, as well as Chicago's far north neighborhood, Rogers Park.
After cracking jokes during his victory speech, Suffredin told Patch he looks forward to fixing the budget, fighting political corruption and revamping the county's health care system under newly elected board president, Toni Preckwinkle.
Find out what's happening in Evanstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Republican opponent, Linda Thompson LaFianza, who watched the results from home, said in a phone interview that she was proud of her party's turnout throughout the North Shore.
"I'm grateful for everyone who voted Republican in this area; they were brave to do so," LaFianza said.
Meanwhile Suffredin said as he fights political corruption in Illinois, he's also going to push for early voting to encourage higher turnout. Although he said Democrats will hold their own in Illinois, Suffredin recognizes a changing tide from the 2008 elections:
"We're going to have to work hard two years from now to stand together and re-elect Barack Obama as president."
