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Arlene Jones

I attend a lot of meetings all over the city. I do it not only to be able to report tothose who read this column or follow me on Facebook, Twitter or myblog, but also because I enjoy following the political antics of thiscity. Following politics is a good way to see the world through avariety of spectrums. When I go to the polls to vote, I want to vote forthe candidate who is offering to represent my best interests and notwhat some people say.

Part of the problem with listening to already elected officials who spout the partyline is that good candidates who are on the ballot don't get any press.For example, most folks have only heard of the Democratic and Republicancandidates for U.S. Senate. Very little press has been given to theGreen Party candidate, LeAlan Jones. Why? Because we are being led tobelieve that Mark Kirk as a Republican or Alexi Giannoulias as aDemocrat are the only options.

Who is LeAlan Jones? Well to start, he is a very intelligent, young, African-Americanman who has been slowly gaining more percentage points as voters havebecome disenchanted by the other two candidates. LeAlan Jones is anative Chicagoan, who came to the public's attention at the tender ageof 13 when he, along with another young man, Lloyd Newman, and a radioproducer, David Isay, made a NPR documentary "Ghetto Life 101." At age16, he followed up that successful report with an in-depth investigationinto the death of Eric Morse, the 5-year-old who was dropped from the14th floor of the Ida B. Wells housing project where Jones was aresident.

Now if this is the first time you've heard about LeAlan Jones and his run for the"senate seat of Barack Obama," that is not surprising. Candidates whoare not of the top two parties are relegated to the oblivion of "no newscoverage." That's why small newspapers like this are so very important.We report on the news, people and events that the big papers don'tconsider worthy of their ink. Jones has been out campaigning and tryingto get press, but the mainstream media has been blocking him. The U.S.Senate candidates are scheduled to do a Meet the Press debate on Oct.10, but Jones hasn't been invited to participate. Why not? His numbersare growing and he is on the ballot. The media doesn't have a problemtelling us daily about the Tea Party and its shenanigans. But a GreenParty candidate who is also a young, highly qualified black man doesn'twarrant a chance to speak on the issues.

Jones has taken some very interesting and astute stances on the issues. When askedto comment on the political process, he responded, "When people ask meif I am a spoiler candidate, I ask them: 'How do you spoil somethingthat's already rotten?'" Now that's a refreshing answer. On fixing theeconomy, Jones says, "I want to finish what the New Deal started andcreate a sustainable economy with good, green jobs by moving our moneyout of big banks and Wall Street." On the state of education inIllinois: "If the economic meltdown taught us one thing, it is don'ttrust Wall Street. So why are we trusting for-profit companies with theeducation of our children and turning our public schools into corporatefactories run by the mayor's hand-picked CEO?" His position on healthcare: "Nobody should make a profit when you get sick. We need asingle-payer health care system that is accountable to patients, putsprevention first, and ends inequality."

LeAlan Jones is a young man who shouldn't be ignored in his quest to go to thesenate. His website is www.lealanforsenate.org. Take the time to learnmore about this young man and on Nov. 2, don't be scared of going Green.A fresh new voice and choice may be exactly what this state needs.

www.arlenejones.blogspot.com