A Fresh Voice Chicago’s West Side Can’t Ignore: Why I’m Supporting P. Rae Easley for Congress
A lifelong West Sider on why a young, first-time Republican candidate has earned his vote in IL-07
From Chicago’s West Side
I’ve lived on Chicago’s West Side my whole life. I’ve watched elected officials come and go, each one promising change, each one leaving us with the same broken promises. So when I first heard about P. Rae Easley—a young woman, first-time candidate, running as a Republican in Illinois’ 7th Congressional District—I’ll admit I was skeptical.
But here’s what changed my mind: she’s actually talking about the things that matter to us.
For years, I’ve listened to Patricia—or P. Rae, as most know her—on WVON 1690am’s “Black Excellence Hour.” She’s not some political insider parachuting into our community with focus-grouped talking points. She’s been working in Chicago politics since she was twelve years old. She’s one of us, and she’s fed up with the same systems that have failed us for decades.
The 7th District has been a Democratic stronghold for as long as anyone can remember. And what do we have to show for it? Rising crime that goes unsolved. Nearly 18,000 public housing units demolished with promises of replacement—promises that ring hollow while the Chicago Housing Authority sits on nearly $1.8 billion in reserves and tens of thousands of families still wait. Safety-net hospitals struggling to keep their doors open because they serve Medicaid patients, contributing to a shocking life expectancy gap right here in our own district.
P. Rae isn’t running on theory. She’s running on reality.
Her platform tackles the issues we talk about every day in barbershops, at church, in our living rooms. She wants every demolished unit of public housing rebuilt—not eventually, not when it’s politically convenient, but now, with real accountability and enforcement of the Right of Return. She’s fighting for fair credit access for community hospitals so they can upgrade and stay open. She’s pushing for community-based safety partnerships that actually improve police response times instead of leaving our neighborhoods vulnerable.
And yes, she’s taking controversial stances. Her opposition to sanctuary policies protecting undocumented immigrants won’t win her points in every room. But she’s making an argument rooted in what she sees happening on our streets: “International narco-terrorism has become the norm in our district,” she says, due to policies that prioritize ideology over the safety of the people who actually live here.
You might not agree with everything P. Rae stands for. I don’t agree with everything she stands for. But here’s what I do know: she’s not afraid to tell the truth as she sees it. She’s not beholden to the same political machine that’s taken our votes for granted. And she’s young enough to understand that we can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.
The West Side deserves someone who will fight for us, not just pay us lip service during election season. We deserve someone who understands that our graduates are losing career opportunities while companies prioritize visa pipelines over local talent. We deserve someone who will push for targeted Justice Department intervention when carjackings and mass shootings devastate our neighborhoods and most cases go unsolved.
P. Rae Easley may be a first-time candidate, but she’s not a political novice. She’s a policy expert who’s been studying these systems long enough to know exactly where they’re broken. And she’s brave enough—or maybe stubborn enough—to run as a Republican in a district that hasn’t elected one in generations.
Maybe that’s exactly what we need. Not someone who promises to work within a system that’s already failed us, but someone willing to challenge it entirely.
I’m supporting P. Rae Easley because the West Side can’t afford another generation of the same old politics. We need integrity. We need accountability. We need someone who loves this community enough to tell us hard truths.
Visit praeforcongress.com to learn more. Whether you end up supporting her or not, at least listen to what she has to say. Our community deserves that much.
By A Chicago West Side Resident