Jim Ascot, president of Ascot Realty Group, Inc., is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 7th Congressional district seat currently held by Rep. Danny K. Davis.Ascot, who has lived in Chicago since his family emigrated from Greece when he was a child, has served as president of the Chicago Association of Realtors and as chair of the State of Illinois Election Day Registration Committee.
When Ascot entered the race, it appeared to be an open field; incumbent Davis since changed his mind and opted to stay in. In a meeting at his West Loop office, Ascot told Windy City Times about the problems Davis' candidacy posed for the race:
Windy City Times: It's definitely sort of a different dynamic in the race than when you all started running.
Jim Ascot: Eight people were going to run. It would have been a great opportunity for voters in an open race to be able to look at all the candidates. So once Danny stepped back in, it sort of dried up—because it's impossible to beat an incumbent. Statistics show that. Unless the people really step up and say, okay, we've had enough, time to change the status quo. I think government seats shouldn't be career seats. We should have term limits. I think that's something that should be talked about and worked through, [ from ] the local level to Washington. Otherwise, you get people who get stuck in the power trip, and that's the end of it.
WCT: Did having a background in mental health [ Ascot worked in that field before entering business ] give you a broader perspective on the healthcare debate?
Jim Ascot: It seems like we should be able to offer much more than what we've been doing. Cook County is always cutting back services, and every time they talk about a tax increase, they talk about services cutting right to the people. They're not cutting administration or other things; they're cutting social services. It's absolutely ridiculous. We have no prevention programs, no one is spending dollars on helping people to at least get first care. It's impossible to understand why [ Davis ] hasn't stepped up and said, let's get together with all these hospitals. Can we volunteer for a free clinic on the west side or south side? Out there, there are people doing, around the world, these free clinics. And we're now doing them in America because people don't have care. How can we not have it here, with all of the resources we have? That's what a Congressman should be stepping up to do.
WCT: One of the things that's about to be taken up by the House is comprehensive immigration reform.
Jim Ascot: That's the next thing we really should be able to look at. I think the undocumented aliens that are in this country—the first proposal was to send them back and let them come back again. That's absolutely ridiculous. I don't know how people can even think that. I like [ Congressman Luis ] Gutierrez's program. I think it makes sense. I appreciate the fact of what American stands for, and what we should be bringing people here to do. The American dream is important. The 12 million people that are here—that's what is suspected—they should be given cards, a national ID: here I am, I'm here, I'm working, I'm paying social security taxes, I'm paying all my taxes, and let me begin that process. I think that's important.
WCT: One thing we've been reporting on in our paper is this provision, which some members were hoping would make it into the bill that didn't, for same-sex partners—binational couples—to sponsor one another for citizenship, on par with heterosexual couples…
Jim Ascot: Why should we discriminate? We're placing moral values on what people are, and that's not what this should be about. I think there's a couple of bills in Washington that need to be taken care of. Repeal DOMA, and Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Those two things should be done in this session. These are bills that are in committee.
WCT: Do you feel impatient that they haven't gotten out of committee?
Jim Ascot: What's holding it up? Obviously we've been debating the healthcare bill—okay. But these are things we need to clean up and do. Because they hold back, I think, social progress. And it's discriminatory—what else can you say other than that? It's not something we should continue to promote. So that would be something that I would do my best as a Congressman to get out of committee, and talk to people in committees to bring some consensus to get it out of committees and up for debate and a vote. I think that we have a Democratic house and a Democratic Senate—this is a time to do it, before November. So there's an urgency to it.
See www.ascotforcongress.com .
