If state Rep. Carolyn Krause (R-Mt. Prospect) gets her way, she will not only vanquish challenger William Klicka in the Republican primary, but also will take away his business.
That’s overdramatizing, but you can’t expect much less when the issue is guns-Krause wants them banned and Klicka sells them.
Indeed, the northwest suburban District 56 House race comes off as a Republican referendum on guns. The ballot may as well read: Are you fer ’em or agin ’em?
Krause, mayor of Mt. Prospect from 1977-89 and a first-term House member, favors stricter gun control. She supports the recently enacted Cook County ordinance banning gun shops from operating within a half-mile of a school or park. She also is sponsoring a statewide version of the law.
Klicka, a Des Plaines resident and first-time candidate, owns the Village Sports Center, a modest gun shop in Arlington Heights. He said he would have to close his 23-year-old store if the ban survives a legal challenge he and other gunshop owners are mounting. Klicka doesn’t think he could find another location in the area that wouldn’t violate the ordinance.
The prohibition, introduced by Richard Phelan, the Cook County Board president and now a Democratic candidate for governor, has energized the gun lobby. Pat Valentino, lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle Association, said she is encouraging members to volunteer for Klicka and can steer money from the National Rifle Association to his campaign.
Krause said she takes seriously the gun lobby threat and will work hard to generate a large voter turnout to dilute the gun lobby’s impact.
Neither side, however, wants the primary to be defined as a one-issue race. Both want to raise as many issues as possible to widen their bases of support.
While Klicka, 50, decided to enter the race after the County Board passed its ordinance, he said that’s not the reason he’s running.
“I’ve got too many friends and relatives who can’t handle the taxes and crime being perpetrated against them,” he said. “I don’t even want to talk about (guns) unless she wants to. Everybody knows where I stand on that. It’s just a waste of time to talk about.”
Krause, having served in Springfield just more than a year, is eager to show voters she has wide interests, ranging from education and health care to campaign reform.
“I want to discuss all of that because it all affects our district, including talking about the necessity for stronger areas of crime and gun control,” the 55-year-old probate attorney said.
If the race were to be decided on the gun issue, Krause would win handily, predicted state Sen. Marty Butler (R-Park Ridge), who also is the Republican committeeman for Maine Township.
According to a recent questionnaire answered by several thousand residents of Butler’s Senate district-which includes all of Krause’s constituents-76 percent of voters want strong gun laws. That result jibes with several national polls on the subject.
“It’s one of those issues that’s obviously overwhelmingly in her favor,” Butler said. “I’ll be very surprised if (Krause receives) anything less than 65 percent of the vote.”
Conservative political broadcaster and columnist Tom Roeser agrees. In today’s crime-conscious times, he said, gun control is a trendy issue among many Republicans as well as Democrats and attracts more votes than a gun-rights argument.
“With the rise in crime, people are so desperate they’ll try anything,” said Roeser, who is not related to gubernatorial candidate Jack Roeser.
As the incumbent being challenged by an unknown, Krause has another powerful advantage: the solid support of the Republican organization in the district. In Wheeling Township, Krause not only got 90 percent of the vote at the Republican caucus, but also committeeman Connie Peters said no one even knew where to find Klicka to invite him to the meeting. Klicka managed to appear anyway.
Klicka said he will run a low-key grass-roots campaign, focusing first on his own customers. While Klicka’s opposition to gun control and abortion should garner financial support from special interest groups, he expects to spend about $10,000, compared to Krause’s planned $30,000 budget.
“Name recognition is going to be the toughest part,” Klicka said. “Most of the guys just know me as Bill. But word is getting out. I don’t know if I’m going to win, but I have to say things that have to be said.”
On the campaign trail, Klicka is pushing tax issues, arguing as a businessman for greater fiscal restraint. He worries how the elderly, like his own parents, are hurt by high property taxes.
Klicka is pushing for stiffer sentences for criminals instead of gun control.
“Jails have to be a little bit more severe,” he said. “You go down to Mexico, if the family doesn’t physically bring the prisoner food, they don’t eat. . . . Maybe we should hire a few wardens from over there for our jails.”
Krause, minority spokesperson for the House committee on Health Care and Human Services, likes to talk about how Illinois shouldn’t wait for national health reform to sort itself out before the state prepares for the repercussions. Krause is in favor of abortion rights.
