伊利诺斯州议会候选人或将创造历史

The Illinois General Assembly's 40th District onChicago's northwest side is the place Paul Sack callshome, even if he doesn't like the way he sees politicsworking locally. "Supposedly, we have thousands of politicians whoare representing us at the city, the county, and thestate level and other districts, but really there areonly a few guys that are in charge." But a knock on the door to his apartment last year gave him new hope. "This campaigner told me a little bit about him, and he seemed like he believed in the samethings I believed in. And with the state and the mess that it's in, it seemed like it was the right time for me to getinvolved with something." So on March 15, Sack's top choice for the general assembly is a Muslim American immigrant whohas never before held public office. Harish Patel bills himself as an "independent Democrat," someone who isn't beholden to thestate party. "My state has not respected or responded to the needs of my community. So in this district, I just feel like there is a crisis of democracy." When Patel came to the U.S. in 1999 with his widowed mother, he didn't speak any English. "And in the assembly that we do is to make laws for the state of Illinois." But thanks to public programs, he got an education and a college degree. Now he wants to give back. "All of this is possible because of the investment the community has made in me. And now is sort of my time to figure out how to keep those programs so other people arecoming to this neighborhood, or other people that live in this neighborhood build thisneighborhood, have the same access that I got." Chicago's 40th is one of the most ethnically diverse in the state. It also is home to three mosques and a large population of Muslim Americans. The primary is a two-man race between Patel and incumbent Jaime Andrade. Whoever wins is likely to win the general election in November because there is currently noRepublican challenger. If Patel wins, he would make history as the first Muslim American immigrant elected to the IllinoisGeneral Assembly. Something Paul Sack hopes to witness that not just as a voter but also as a new member ofPatel's campaign. "It is great that somebody from another country, somebody who didn't learn English until hewas 14, is…you know, might be my representative." Winning the election may be the easy part. The General Assembly next year will face many issues, including how to solve the state's $9billion annual budget deficit. 虽然并不喜欢当地政治的运作方式，但伊利诺斯州芝加哥西北的第40选区是保罗•萨克称之为家的地方。 “据说，代表我们市、县甚至是州等地区的政治代表有上千人，但是真正履行职责的人只有很少一部分。” 但是去年一位人士的到访给他带来了新希望。 “这位活动家给我讲了一些他的事情，看起来我们俩的想法是一样的。 现在州内一团乱，我想是时候要做些什么了。” 因此在3月15日的州议会上，萨克将会选择这位从未出任过公职的穆斯林移民。 哈利斯•帕特尔宣称自己为“无党派民主人士”，不受制于州政党。 “我所在的社区不被这个州尊重，我们的需求也从未得到回应。 因此在这个选区，我觉得民主正面临危机。” 当帕特尔1999年跟随寡母来到美国时，他根本不会讲英语。 “在立法机构我们要制定法律。” 但得益于公共项目，他接受教育并取得了大学学位。 现在他想要有所回报。 “我现在所有的一切都是社区对我的投资。 现在我要想办法维持这些项目，这样其他人才会来到这个社区，或者在这里生活的人们共同建设家园，让更多人得到我曾获得的帮助。” 芝加哥的第40区是种族最多样化的一个地区。 这里有3座清真寺，而且大部分的美国穆斯林都聚集在此。 初选是在帕特尔和在职的亚伊姆•安德拉德之间进行。 无论谁获得胜利，都很有可能在11月的大选中获胜，因为目前共和党无人参加竞选。 如果帕特尔获胜，他就将创造历史，成为首位赢得伊利诺斯州议会选举的穆斯林移民。 而对保罗•萨克而言，他最希望的不仅仅是成为一名投票者，更希望成为帕特尔运动的一员。 “如果能够看到来自其他国家的一个人，一个直到14岁才学习英语的人成为我们的代表，这将是一件非常振奋人心的事。” 而选举获胜或许只是其中最容易的部分。 明年的州议会将面临诸多问题，包括如何解决伊利诺斯州每年高达90亿美元的预算赤字。