Illinois Democrat snares House seat
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CHICAGO - A reform-minded Democrat yesterday claimed the high-profile Illinois congressional seat that Rahm Emanuel gave up to be President Obama's chief of staff.
Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, 50, trounced GOP nominee Rosanna Pulido and Green Party candidate Matt Reichel for the Fifth Congressional District seat that Emanuel first won in 2002.
With 86 percent of precincts reporting, Quigley had 25,948, or 69 percent of the vote.
Pulido had 9,027 or 24 percent and Reichel had 7 percent.
The district that includes Wrigley Field is a Democratic stronghold stretching from Chicago's wealthy North Side lakefront to ethnic neighborhoods on the northwest side and neighboring Cook County suburbs.
The win means that Quigley will fill the remainder of the two-year term Emanuel won in November.
He has said government transparency and environmental issues would be among his key priorities in Washington.
Quigley was the favorite after winning last month's crowded Democratic primary.
Quigley lapped his two challengers in fund-raising and got three times as many votes as all six Republican challengers combined in the primary.
