www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-north-shore-congressional-primary-tight-20120320,0,557352.story
A management consultant from Deerfield has won a North Shore Democratic congressional primary contest tonight.
With nearly 95 percent of the vote counted, Brad Schneider of Deerfield had 47 percent to 39 percent for Ilya Sheyman, a 25-year-old political activist from Waukegan.
Schneider will go on to face one-term Republican Rep. Robert Dold of Kenilworth in the fall.
“I am running to make sure that we win this ticket and send Congressman Dold home with a one-way ticket," Schneider said. “I am asking Democrats, Independents and a few like-minded Republicans to join our campaign so we can reconnect the middle class back to their government and get our economy back on the right track.”
“This is a race we know we can win. This is a race we know we must win. But there’s only one way we can do it. By staying together, by staying positive," he added.
Sheyman came out and addressed supporters, conceding defeat.
"We may not have achieved our goal but there is no denying the people-powered campaign we built," Sheyman said.
John Tree of Long Grove had 8 percent and Vivek Bavda of Mundelein had less than 6 percent.
Sheyman and Schneider each raised more than a half-million dollars to fuel TV ads and mailers attacking each other.
Sheyman hit Schneider for giving money in the past to Republican candidates, including U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, who once held Dold’s seat. Schneider said he backed GOP candidates who supported Israel.
Schneider has hit Sheyman for drawing money from out-of-state contributors. Sheyman said that points to his ability to raise the needed money to beat Dold.
Volunteers and staff on Brad Schneider’s campaign are eating platefuls of pizza and melon at Trax Tavern and Grill in Deerfield.
The candidate was expected to remain at his Deerfield home with his wife, Julie, and two teen sons until around 8:30 p.m., said campaign manager Jarrod Backous.
“We’re going to see the numbers as you guys see them,” Backous said. “We don’t have any inside baseball.”
Five flat screen TVs in the restaurant’s banquet room are tuned to CNN. Campaign workers and supporters, many college and high school students, are checking race results on their cellphones.
Tonight, drinks are flowing and the band is playing at the Ramada Hotel in Waukegan with over 100 supporters, many sporting Ilya Sheyman For Congress t-shirts and eagerly awaiting election results.
"We had an incredibly robust field operation of about 650 volunteers," said Joanna Klonsky communications director for the Sheyman campaign.
Annie Weinberg, campaign director, said volunteers made over 107,000 live individual calls.
The campaign also hosted over house parties from Waukegan to Glencoe to Northbrook, said Weinberg.
"When you run a campaign on the progressive values that built the middle class with an emphasis on healthcare, jobs and you can not only energize but you can win."