Kucinich visits Naperville, Illinois
Originally published in the Daily Herald
Ohio representative starts off presidential campaign in Naperville
By Stacy St. Clair Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted August 06, 2003
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio says his political compass is working just fine, thank you very much.
Sure, the Democrat picked Republican-heavy Naperville to bolster his presidential campaign in Illinois. And, yes, he spent most of Tuesday in DuPage, Kane and Will counties while his Democratic opponents were in Chicago wooing labor leaders.
But Kucinich insists he wanted it that way.
The lawmaker believes the key to his campaign's success will be appearances in towns such as Naperville, where he can explain how his platform will benefit communities across the country.
"I am a neighborhood kind of guy," he said. "The success of my campaign is going to depend on neighborhoods and communities like this."
Kucinich had just taken a red-eye flight from San Diego to Chicago, arriving at O'Hare at 5 a.m. Tuesday. His staff advised him to skip his breakfast meeting at the Fat Bean Coffeehouse in south Naperville and rest for a candidate forum Tuesday night at Navy Pier in Chicago.
The congressman, the former mayor of Cleveland, refused to cancel. He grabbed a few hours sleep and arrived in Naperville about 50 minutes behind schedule.
"He was advised against this," said Geri Solomon, an Aurora minister and Kucinich's Illinois campaign manager. "But he insisted."
Fat Bean owner Marla Tabaka had invited Kucinich to her shop after learning he would be in the area Tuesday.
She believed Kucinich, a vegan, would feel comfortable in her shop, which offers organic foods and sells only fair-trade coffee that comes from importers who pay their workers decent wages and meet other strict criteria.
"I thought we would be the perfect place for him to come," Tabaka said.
By the time Kucinich arrived at Fat Bean, an eclectic group awaited him. College students were mingling with blue-collar workers. Political junkies chatted with soccer moms who had stopped in for children's story hour and didn't know Kucinich had planned on being there.
Most found a refreshing irony in the unabashed liberal's decision to visit Naperville, which long has been a bastion of Republican politics. The last presidential candidate to visit the city was George W. Bush, whose advisers chose the city in 2000 because they believed it would offer a safe haven for a GOP candidate to appear on Labor Day.
"It's fascinating, isn't it?" Naperville resident Jennifer Jackson said. "It's a good thing for Naperville. They need to be exposed to other people's opinions in this town. Naperville doesn't own the market on values and morals."
During a 20-minute question-and-answer session, Kucinich vowed to cut military spending, repeal the tax cut and provide free college education. He also proposed recreating the Public Works Association that helped lift the country out of the Depression.
He maligned Bush throughout the appearance, accusing the president of lying and fear-mongering. He called upon the United Nations to take control of rebuilding Iraq rather than allow the United States to install a "puppet government."
"That whole war was based on lies and misstatements," said Kucinich, who voted against military action in Iraq. "What does that mean? It means the U.N. should be in and the U.S. should be out."
Kucinich also found fans among a group of suburban moms with autistic children. An ardent supporter of more money for autism research, Kucinich has called for studies on the correlation between autism and inoculations.
After his talk, Naperville resident Susan Owczarzak, who has a 7-year-old autistic son, approached Kucinich to thank him for his efforts. She blinked back tears as she told him to keep fighting for funding.
Kucinich stayed in the coffeehouse for about an hour, sipping tea and answering questions. He exited the shop about 11 a.m. armed with bran muffins and fresh fruit from Tabaka.
His advisers appeared anxious to get him to a fund-raising lunch at Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 501 Union Hall in Aurora. Kucinich, however, shunned their timetable to stop and chat with a group of moms sitting at sidewalk café tables.
"He's here because he wants to be here," Solomon said. "The people in the suburbs and the Fox Valley area are just as important to him as everybody else."
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