Illinois Election: Crime, abortion, and other hot-button issues motivate voters to turn out in Evergreen Park
EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- The leadup to the 2022 midterm election has been filled with passion, rancor, and sometimes even vitriol around the country – including the Chicago area.
CBS 2's Marie Saavedra visited southwest suburban Evergreen Park Tuesday to find out what voters say is motivating them to visit the polls.
Several people who spoke to Saavedra did not mince words. It came down to one issue and one issue only – abortion.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of this year, ending the constitutional right to an abortion. Experts predicted that issue was going to fire up Democrats in the midterms – and that was true in Evergreen Park.
"I think the biggest thing for me is I'm a father of five girls, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade - that's pivotal for me," said Anthony Williams "To have that kind of conversation in 2022 - to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body – I think is ridiculous. And I think the fact that we actually have to vote for that is kind of sad. But here we are."
Other voters in Evergreen Park expressed support for electing or reelecting candidates who oppose abortion rights.
Meanwhile, you have noticed no doubt that crime has been a major focus this campaign season - from commercials and campaign mailers to messaging from the governor's race all the way down to specific legislative districts. Many candidates are promising to make the streets safer.
Evergreen Park voter and newly-married father Bernard Wilks said his only priority was fighting crime and ensuring safety.
"I have an 8-year-old son, you know, so that's very important to me," Wilks said. "That's one of the reasons I came this way is because of safety."
Wilks said he wants to see change in Evergreen Park when it comes to public safety.
"I want it to be better. I want the streets to be safe," he said. "People are scared to walk outside because of the violence in the surrounding area."
The strength of American democracy is also a major issue on both partisan sides.
Evergreen Park voter Lynne Dunne said her main concerns were: "Inflation, the country going to hell, socialism, communism - not for it. Won't work."
She continued: "Take the boot off the neck and the fist down the throat, and let us live our lives the way we want to, and that has to change - or we're moving to Florida! That's it!"
Michael Aumiller said he was motivated by concerns about candidates' own motivations.
"It's particularly important right now that the people that we send in to positions of power aren't denying reality," he said. "It's important we don't send insurrectionists to positions of authority, and it is important that we turn out and continue to vote and we're not going to be intimidated by anybody."
Here are some thoughts on motivations from a few other Evergreen Park voters.
Rachel Aumiller: "We think voting is really important, and I think modeling that is the best way to convince the kids that it's something that's our responsibility."
Nancy Guido: "All basic human rights, quality, fairness, honesty, and truth. Yeah. I'll leave it at that."
Data on exit polling from CBS News late Tuesday indicated that the issues of abortion and inflation are top of mind nationally.
But about half of the people we spoke with in Evergreen Park cited safety as one of the reasons they chose their candidates.
CBS News polling also found seven out of 10 voters feel democracy is threatened. This is the first time since the 1970s that CBS News has even felt the need to ask about the state of democracy in the United States.