Illinois is sending 365 delegates to the national conventions starting next week.
The Republicans’ kicks off Monday in Tampa, Florida. Democrats hold theirs the following week in North Carolina. Illinois Public Radio's WBEZ has been talking with some of these delegates - not the career politicians, but average citizens with a stake in the process. Alex Keefe and Tony Arnold provide this profile.
Meet 47-year-old Gabriela Wyatt. Mother, wife, and dyed-in-the-wool Republican cheerleader, from the top of her head down to, well... her shoes that sport the Republican logo. Red, white and blue shoes - red, white and blue scarves - Wyatt says her bags were packed days before leaving for Tampa. She was elected to be a Mitt Romney delegate in the March primary. So she’s taking off time from her job as a manager at Motorola to head to Florida, with 68 other Illinois Republicans. Even though this is now her second convention, Wyatt says she wasn’t involved in politics at all when she first came to the U-S from Mexico in 1992. But later she started knocking on doors in Aurora for her husband’s mayoral campaign - trying to turn out Hispanic voters.
Since then, Wyatt has been trying to convince Hispanics the GOP tent is big enough for them, too. She concedes many Hispanics she talks to are worried about what they see as Republicans’ hard-line against illegal immigration. But she says President Obama had his chance to overhaul the immigration system - but instead, burned his political fuel during the health care fight. She says immigration is important to Hispanic voters - though not as much as jobs and the economy. But for Wyatt, it seems to be as much about the process as policies. Gabriela Wyatt says her larger goal is simply to get Hispanics to vote this November - whether for a Republican or a Democrat.
Moises Garcia isn’t one to sit still when it comes to politics. Not only is he going to the Democratic convention - he proudly talks of knocking on doors, getting signatures. There’s just one small issue with that. He lives in DuPage County – which hasn’t been all that blue in Illinois. Garcia says he's had some doors slammed in his face. That said – the 28-year-old Garcia says he’s seen events for young DuPage Democrats grow in the few years he’s been involved.
Garcia works as a coordinator at a water softener assembly plant in the northwest suburbs. He gives me a lift in his car to a nearby Starbucks – just in the shadow of O’Hare. There are some Wu Tang Clan cds sitting in his car - but his radio was tuned to WBEZ. He says his parents inspired him to spend so much time on politics. Garcia’s dad immigrated to the U-S from Mexico in the early 70s. And Garcia worries about the kids of other immigrants – who would qualify for paths to citizenship if Congress ever passes the DREAM Act.
He says a lot of the DREAMers out here had no choice on when they came and He's afraid in the current political climate, especially if you see Romney and Ryan win this election, that they will not be awarded the same opportunities that his father had. Garcia says a lot of his dinner table conversations growing up revolved around unions. His dad was a member of the United Steelworkers. And when he sees labor losing ground in Illinois and other states – like Wisconsin – it motivates him to get involved. He says his dad always told him, ‘It’s easy to complain about something. But if you’re going to complain, you better get out there and do something about it.’ Garcia says he’s happy to cheer Barack Obama on at the convention – but to him - all politics is local. He’s already working on DuPage County races. Even down to the contests for Forest Preserve commissioners.
