Drury, Shaw vie to replace May in 58th District

Mark Shaw

Updated: November 19, 2012 3:08PM

Democrat Scott Drury and Republican Mark Shaw are hot on the campaign trail, hoping to fill the shoes of retiring State Rep. Karen May in the 58th District.

Both have knocked on doors in the past few months, met with groups in the diverse district and participated Sunday in a forum organized by the League of Women Voters.

The two practicing attorneys hail from different communities — Drury lives in Highwood and Shaw in Lake Forest — and fall in different age groups — Drury is 39 and Shaw is 51.

Illinois’ 58th House District includes all or portions of Bannockburn, Deerfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Knollwood, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Northbrook, North Chicago and Riverwoods.

Drury is a newcomer to the political process. Shaw has worked on the grass-roots level in elections for decades. Shaw, in fact, was the campaign manager for Republican candidate Lauren Turelli of Lake Forest, who won the GOP primary for in the 58th District but withdrew in June, citing family reasons. The Republican Party tapped Shaw in July to replace Turelli on the ballot.

Each candidate said getting the state’s fiscal house in order, balancing the budget and resolving the state’s pension crisis are key challenges they will face if elected.

Private practice

Now in private practice, Drury worked for eight years as an assistant U.S. attorney, prosecuting a high-level member of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration and conducting complex investigations into Illinois’ finances.

“I’ve seen Illinois at its worst,” Drury said.

The state needs honest, credible people in office to turn the ship around, he said.

“We can’t rely on the U.S. Attorney’s Office to get the bad people out,” Drury said. “We have to start getting good people in.”

Regarding the state’s budget, Drury said through his work in the U.S. Attorney’s Office he observed actions the state has taken to show it has a balanced budget.

“As a state representative, I’m going to call for truthful, honest budgets, not those with political gimmicks,” Drury said.

Shaw, in addition to his law degree, is a licensed pharmacist who brings to the race an understanding of the political process. He has served as a campaign manager for Republican candidates for more than 20 years. While this race is his first for state office, Shaw ran an unsuccessful bid for Lake County Board in 1996.

Downstate experience

Unlike Drury, who grew up in Highland Park, Shaw has lived in southern Illinois, central Illinois and Indiana, and he has licenses to practice law in Illinois and Wisconsin.

“I believe I can work with people from all over the state of Illinois,” Shaw said.

Shaw’s experience in Indiana and Wisconsin, two states that have siphoned businesses from Illinois, give him important experience to bring businesses back to the state, he said.

Shaw’s parents spent their careers as teachers, which has given him an inside look at the state pension system, he said.

“I believe that Illinois is at a crossroads,” Shaw said. “We need to get down there and put politics aside and try to get things done.”

If elected, Shaw said he does not intend on becoming a lifetime government employee.

May announced last fall that she would not seek re-election after more than a decade in office.

Show / Hide Comments