ENDORSEMENT: Raja Krishnamoorthi for Congress in 8th District Democratic Primary

Raja Krishnamoorthi gets things done, pursues bipartisanship and has his priorities right.

By CST Editorial Board

Raja Krishnamoorthi is among the most effective members of Congress from Illinois.

He gets good things done, pursues bipartisanship and has his priorities right. He has focused on jobs and affordable health care, on skills-based training for young people who are not college-bound, and on making college more affordable for those who are.

Krishnamoorthi, first elected to Congress in 2016, worked with a House Republican colleague to create a program — a cooperative venture of government and private businesses — to train some 13 million young people in the skills they need to do jobs that now go unfilled for lack of qualified applicants.

He has led a bipartisan effort to discourage young people from using e-cigarettes, which could pose a health crisis. As a result of his work, Juul, a vaping industry leader, has halted U.S. advertising and sales of flavored products.

Krishnamoorthi also was a leader in Congress in convincing the Trump administration to reduce from 10 years to just five the period during which pharmaceutical companies can retain exclusive rights to a new drug. This revision of President Trump’s new North American trade deal — the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement — will make it possible for less expensive generic alternatives to be brought to market earlier.

At the top of his agenda for the next two years, Krishnamoorthi wants to improve Obamacare by creating an affordable “public option” alternative to private health insurance. He wants to push Congress to end a ban on the federal government’s ability to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry for Medicare and Medicaid recipients. And he wants to see the completion, finally, of a western access point to O’Hare Airport, which could transform the economy of the suburbs to the west of the airport.

Also running is William Olson, an author from Schaumburg, and Dr. Inam Hussain, an anesthesiologist with a commendable record of public service. Unfortunately, Dr. Hussain’s legal residence in Libertyville lies 30 miles outside the 8th Congressional District.

We endorse Krishnamoorthi.

Photo Credit: Ashlee Rezin Garcia/ Sun-Times
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