Sheila Simon, candidate for Lt. Governor, made an appearance in Champaign on Thursday for a Women’s Issues Fall Forum hosted by the Illinois Democratic Women.
Simon, the daughter of late U.S. Senator Paul Simon, is a law professor at Southern Illinois University and a former Carbondale City council member. She has been traveling around the state during her campaign to meet voters. The Illinois Democratic Women and Simon said they believe this is a very important election for women as their opponent, State Senator and Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Brady, R-44, is opposed to many issues they believe directly affect women.
“State Sen. Brady opposes equal pay for equal work. He would like to roll back the minimum wage, which doesn’t sound very gender specific, but many more women make minimum wage then men,” Simon said.
Devin Mapes, head of the Illinois Democratic Women and senior in LAS, was excited to have Simon present to discuss issues with the people.
“This forum was a good chance to hear what Simon’s commitment to women’s issues will be,” Mapes said.
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Simon said she is very adamant about Gov. Pat Quinn’s recent efforts to help women.
“He has always been there to speak up for someone that isn’t powerful or connected but just an average voter that usually doesn’t have a voice because they can’t write the big checks,” Simon said.
Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-103, said she was honored to have Simon in attendance for the forum.
“Sheila Simon brings to us such a wealth of experience and a lifetime of service,” Jakobsson said. “She continues to make family an important part of her life, which is something a lot of women can relate to.”
Simon said she and Quinn have based their campaign around two issues: creating jobs and funding education.
“Jobs are the number one issue for everyone across the state,” Simon said. “Gov. Quinn is such a strong advocate for education, and I’m proud to say he is someone who, in an election year, has stood up and said, ‘I want more revenue to go to education,’ which takes a lot of guts.”
She said she feels Quinn hasn’t been recognized for the jobs he has created.
“This isn’t one of those campaigns where both candidates are the same and (people do) not know how to tell the difference,” Simon said.
“A lot of people are thinking ‘bleh’ about Illinois politics as of late and we want to change that.”
