According to Phillip Jackson, the other candidates vying to be state rep from the 26th District would be wise not to discount Phillip Jackson. “Some people would say, ‘You’re too independent. You’re always doing what’s right for the people.’ That is correct,” he says. “The other guys, they’ve got billboards. They’ve got robocalls, they’ve got mailings—good! Keep it up! All we do is touch the people.”
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Barack Obama once represented the area in the state senate, and his presidential campaign themes have been eagerly seized on by Jackson and the other four contenders for the house seat: they’re all proclaiming their commitment to shaking things up while quietly promising to use their connections and collaborative skills to get things done.
But none of them claims to be both a reformer and a backroom deal maker with the unbridled enthusiasm of Phillip Jackson, an education activist who has served as a top official for the Chicago Public Schools, a budget wonk for the Daley administration, and head of the Chicago Housing Authority.
Several of the candidates claim their polls have them in a position to win. Jackson is one of them, and he discounts the rest. “These guys are not running against a man—they’re running against an image. And fair or not, it’s that I care about people.” v
