First-term state Rep. Michael Zalewski rolled to an easy victory in the Democratic primary in the 21st District on Feb. 2. Zalewski received 8,852 votes or 71 percent, while Terrence Collins, a lawyer and Chicago police officer, received 3,379 votes or 29 percent.
As of now, Zalewski has no Republican or Green Party opponents in the November election in the heavily Democratic district which includes portions of the southwest side of Chicago, most of Brookfield and much of Riverside.
Collins tried to make an issue of the way Zalewski was originally appointed to his office. In 2008, Zalewski, whose father is the alderman of Chicago’s 23rd Ward, was picked by Democratic Party officials to replace former state Rep. Bob Molaro on the November ballot when Molaro decided to retire that summer, months after the primary.
Collins, who was endorsed by both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, picked up 39.3 percent of the vote in the suburban part of the district but couldn’t mount a serious challenge to Zalewski, who heavily outspent Collins in the race.
-Bob Skolnik
