The family of a woman who died last year in a San Diego County jail filed a lawsuit this week alleging jail staff ignored the severity of her declining health, leading to her death less than two months after she was booked into custody.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul is running for a second term in office, but he is facing stiff opposition from both the Republican and Libertarian parties.
Attorney Thomas DeVore has been a frequent adversary of Raoul’s in court during the COVID pandemic, and is running against him as the Republican candidate. Retired attorney Dan Robin is representing the Libertarians on the ballot, and is calling for drastic changes to the state’s approach to ballot access, COVID mitigations, and more.
Here's more on the three candidates running for attorney general.
Kwame Raoul (Democrat)
Raoul was elected in 2018 to replace former Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
In his first term, Raoul created an Organized Retail Crime Task Force to investigate smash-and-grab robberies. His campaign website says that the task force has broken up a stolen car ring and has recovered more than $1 million in stolen retail merchandise.
Raoul has also advocated for protecting abortion access for Illinois women, and has also partnered with other attorney generals to expand voting rights, according to his website.
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Raoul’s website says that he pledges to continue those battles, while expanding health care access, protecting consumers from price gouging, and pushing for bills to protect women’s rights and worker’s rights.
You can read more about Raoul on his campaign’s website.
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Thomas DeVore (Republican)
DeVore, an attorney from southern Illinois, leapt onto the political stage by suing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration over a variety of COVID-19 mitigations, including stay-at-home orders and mask mandates. He also pushed for the governor’s emergency powers to be curtailed in a series of legal actions.
DeVore also pushed back against COVID-19 vaccine requirements for Chicago police officers.
On his campaign website, DeVore says he plans to go after corruption in the state, emphasizing that the job of the attorney general is to be the “independent watchdog” representing the interests of the state’s residents. He also has been highly critical of the “SAFE-T Act,” and says that he will work to provide more resources to law enforcement.
You can read more about DeVore’s campaign on his website.
Dan Robin (Libertarian)
Robin is a retired attorney, having practiced law for 45 years, according to his website.
The primary thrust behind his campaign is the argument that the “greatest impediment to upward mobility is government regulation,” and says that less government intervention will allow residents to thrive.
Robin is pushing for a dramatic overhaul of the state’s voting system, calling for ranked choice voting and an end to policies like gerrymandering and what he considers to be onerous barriers to candidates getting onto ballots.
He has also called for limits on emergency powers in the wake of the COVID pandemic, and has called for more parental involvement in the education system.
You can learn more about Robin’s campaign here.
