Casten, Pekau rally at same Oak Brook venue as 6th District race tightens

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Four days before Election night, things are down to the wire in the 6th Congressional District race.

The battle pits incumbent Illinois Representative Sean Casten and Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau, which was flipped back in 2018 for the first time in about 50 years from Republican to Democrat. With the boundary lines redrawn, however, things could flip again.  

In recent days, high-profile support has been coming in for both candidates. 

Last week, Casten appeared at a reproductive health forum alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Friday night, Senator Dick Durbin joined Casten at a public town hall in Oak Brook.

Down the Hyatt Lodge hallway in the same building, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy took the podium to stump for Pekau.

Issues dividing Casten and Pekau include abortion, the SAFE-T Act and rising inflation.

Voters and volunteers on both sides weighed in.

“Everyone wants to feel represented and sometimes we don’t,” said Erik Nelson, who, along with his wife Lisa, has been doing the rounds for the Republican side. Both say the support they found is high.

“We’ve been knocking on doors for [Pekau] in areas where you might expect it to be blue,” Lisa Nelson said. “We are finding many people are saying, ‘you’ve got my vote, you’ve got my vote.’”

Diane Rodi says she is doing her part for Casten.

“What I like about Sean is he’s practical. He thinks using data and as a retired scientist, I do the same,” Rodi said.

Pools open Tuesday at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.