Illinois District 17: Representative Lane Evans
For Our Farmers, For Our Futures
Rural northwestern Illinois might strike many people as an unlikely place to
return a green representative like Lane Evans (D) to Congress eight times. This
is, for the most part, conservative farm country-miles and miles of soybean and
cornfields. But that's not the whole story. Family farmers are looking nervously
over their shoulders at the enormous industrial hog facilities moving into the
area. Blue-collar factory workers in the more urban parts of the district (though
"even the largest towns aren't that big," says a local Sierra Club activist)
aren't much more secure, and concerns about layoffs or factories moving to Mexico
tend to be more urgent than environmental woes.
Yet incumbent Evans has what may be the best environmental voting record of any
member of Congress representing a predominantly rural district: a lifetime score
of 90-plus from the League of Conservation Voters. He's a frequent cosponsor of
bills to preserve open space in the Arctic, Utah, and elsewhere-including winning
increased funding for his own district's Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge. He
supported stronger clean-air standards last year, despite heavy lobbying from
local industries. In recognition of his work, the LCV dubbed him an
"environmental hero," and the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club Group named him 1995
Conservationist of the Year.
Also aiding Evans' popularity is his close attention to agricultural and
veterans' issues. A former antipoverty lawyer and Marine officer, Evans sponsored
successful legislation winning compensation for children with spina bifida whose
Vietnam vet parents were exposed to the dioxin-laced defoliant Agent Orange. He
has been one of the leading voices in Congress for a ban on antipersonnel land
mines, which continue to cripple children around the world as surely as dioxin
poisoning.
Evans had an unexpectedly close race two years ago against Mark Baker, a
television newscaster. Baker is back this year, heavily supported by the National
Republican Campaign Committee, the Farm Bureau, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"Evans is on virtually every hit list in Washington," notes The Washington Post.
Baker's strategy is to brand Evans as an antibusiness liberal. He claims that
environmental regulations are "tying the hands of small business and farmers" and
thinks the government's role in environmental protection has been "excessive."
Baker himself was a supporter of Newt Gingrich's notorious Contract With America.
Despite Evans' incumbency, his close race against Baker in 1996 makes this
contest a toss-up. If things weren't tough enough, Evans revealed recently that
he is suffering from the early stages of Parkinson's disease. His doctor says
that he can continue to function at a high level for many years, although he is
already experiencing some discomfort. "Sometimes it's even hard to smile," he told Roll Call. Hopefully that won't be the case on November 4.
