PALOS PARK – Sounds crazy, but George Soros is spending money on national, state and even county races this season. One of only four Republicans serving on the 17 member Democrat-controlled Cook County Board of Commissioners, Sean Morrison of District 17 is facing an uphill battle against Democrat Abdelnasser Rashid, 29-year-old Harvard graduate that has worked as a community activist for Soros in the past.
Rashid would be the first Arab Muslim on the county board. He adamantly opposes Morrison's efforts to stop a minimum wage hike and mandated paid sick leave countywide and Morrison's success at bringing together bi-partisan group that successfully repealed the countywide soda tax.
Morrison's efforts to stop tax hikes and employment mandates won him the endorsement of the Left-Leaning Chicago Sun Times. After listing his Democrat opponent's stance that Cook County's taxes really aren's that bad, and could be balanced with a tighter oversight of the county's budget, The Sun Times went with Morrison:
That leaves us looking at the balance of power on the county board, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 13-4. A little more balance couldn’t hurt, each side serving as a check on the other. Our pick is Morrison. We’re counting on him to continue scrutinizing taxation and spending, as he did when he opposed Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s ill-conceived and since repealed soda tax.
All politics is local, they say, and Morrison is looking for Republicans in his district to get out and vote – a necessity that down ballot candidates are pushing since the gubernatorial race has so many Republicans and conservatives disengaged.
Morrison says his opponent a political operative for George Soros.
Morrison says his opponent has substantial resources behind him. Rashid has worked for Soros' “Our Revolution” organization, and he's backed by "Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and the Cook Democratic Party as well as JB Pritzker, sending a lot of money his way," Morrison told Illinois Review.
"I’m just going to keep working hard, stand by my three years of record at the board and have faith in the residents of the 17th district," he said.
Rashid has raised $35,000 from unions, Democrat organizations and private donors.
