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Abigail Nichols

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Abigail Nichols
Image of Abigail Nichols

Education

Bachelor's

Carleton College, 1966

Graduate

University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1968

Ph.D

University of California, Berkeley, 1977

Personal
Birthplace
Fremont, Ohio
Profession
Policy analyst
Contact

Abigail Nichols (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Illinois House of Representatives to represent District 12. She was disqualified from the Democratic primary scheduled on June 28, 2022.

Nichols completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Abigail Nichols was born in Fremont, Ohio. She earned a bachelor's degree from Carleton College in 1966, a graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1968, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1977. Her career experience includes working as a policy analyst, a college professor for the University of Wisconsin-Superior and the University of Texas Arlington Graduate School of Social Welfare, and has worked for the U.S. Department of Labor, Food and Nutrition Service, and the Department of Agriculture. Nichols has been affiliated with the Woman's National Democratic Club, Emily's List, Gladstone's Library, League of Women Voters, and Planned Parenthood of Illinois.[1]

Elections

2022

See also: Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Illinois House of Representatives District 12

Incumbent Margaret Croke defeated George Kemper in the general election for Illinois House of Representatives District 12 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Margaret Croke
Margaret Croke (D)
 
80.2
 
31,332
Image of George Kemper
George Kemper (R) Candidate Connection
 
19.8
 
7,735

Total votes: 39,067
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 12

Incumbent Margaret Croke advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 12 on June 28, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Margaret Croke
Margaret Croke
 
99.9
 
12,360
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
14

Total votes: 12,374
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 12

George Kemper advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 12 on June 28, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of George Kemper
George Kemper Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
1,798

Total votes: 1,798
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Abigail Nichols completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nichols' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am a Democrat because I support a woman’s choice. I am a Democrat because I support government action for lpublic education, living wages, income and housing supports, public safety, and health care for all. To get these things, control guns, and protect the environment, we must trust government and each other. Thus I call for Ranked Choice Voting, Open Primaries, Public Campaign Fnancee, Independent Legislative Redistricting, Tax Reform, and Policy Fairness
  • Illinois voters want the policies for which I advocate: tax reform, an end to gerrymandering, campaign finance reform, ranked choice voting.
  • I am friendly, curious, hadworking, smart, and ethical. My rural Republican childhood makes me sympathetic to the concerns of all Illinoisians. whatever their party or urban/rural issues.
  • Lots of experience plus a secure economic base gives me an independent footing to take risks.
Ranked Choice Voting

Open Primaries
Policy Fairness
Public Campaign Financing
Legislative Redistricting
Tax Reform
Climate Change reduction and mitigation

Getting rid of plastics
Eleanor Roosevelt. She was persistent, patient, and tolerant of others. Her committment to civil rights and human rights was unwavering. The entire United Nations General Assembly stood to honor her leadership in passing the International Declaraiton of Human Rights, Republican Senator Arthur Vandenburg said, "I take back everything I ever said about her, and believe me it's been plenty."
Knowledge of the Issues

Upright personal ethics
Belief in science
Humility
Enjoyment of People

Understanding the possibilities and the limits of legislation for creating social change
1) Being prepared on legislation being prepared for the leadership
2) Furthering the issues the legislator campaigned to advance.
Progress towards Ranked Choice Voting throughout Illinois
On January 20, 1953, half of my third grade class came to my house to watch the innauguraton of Dwight David Eisenhauer. My grandmother had given my family a television for Christmas 1952. Not all families in my small town had a television yet. The televised innauguration was of great interest.
From age nine to twelve I collected meal tickets in the school lunch room. I earned a free lunch.
Right now I am reading "Joy" -- a conversation between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. So helpful as I listen to the hearings of the Special Committee on January 6 and ponder the new Supreme Court ruling rescinding Roe vs Wade.
I like to sing but my serious avocation is duplicate bridge. By the fall I will likely be a Ruby Life Master of the American Contract Bridge Associaiton.
Ten years work trying to reduce outdoor amplified music from outdoor roofdecks operating until 4 am within a block of residentially zoned homes.
The governor, having the broadest view of Illinois’ needs, can propose and lead on policy. The governor must listen to all the legislators in developing his vision for Illinois.
Healing geographical and partisan divisions would help Illinois face its challenges. We must bridge divisions to develop a unified vision that 1) promotes economic development in which Illinois leads in ecological manufacturing and energy, 2) achieves tax reform, excellent education and health care for all children.
While this is an interesting question, it is one I do not have to think about as part of my job as legislator. I do not have to think about a unicameral legislature because this is an outlier idea for Illinois. Illinois needs change but there are many other, more possible ones to think about.
Yes. Knowledge and Experience seem mandatory not just beneficial. The work of the legislator requires knowledge of structure and the law, knowledge of policy, knowledge of the history of policy, knowledge of fellow legislators and knowledge of constituent views. A single legislator cannot have all of this knowledge, but it’s hard to be a quick study when issues must be addressed without some background of knowledge and experience.
Yes. Building relationships helps find common ground and is the basis of informal knowledge about what is happening. Building relationships is easy for me. I am naturally a networker, and I have a broad background that makes me curious and friendly towards most everyone.
I favor -- and for two years have worked for -- independent redistricting in Illinois -- both at the State level and for Chicago's wards.
I have broad interests and experience. I would be honored to serve on any number of committees of the Illinois State House of Representatives. My social welfare policy career prepares me for service on committees covering Adoption and Child Welfare, Mental Health, the Human Services, Labor and Commerce, or the Housing Committee,. My volunteer interests coincide with those of the Agriculture and Conservation Committee, The Energy and Environment Committee, the Cities and Villages Committee, and the Counties and Townships Committee. My economics education and policy passion for good government and fiscal responsibility suggests service on the Ethics & Elections Committee, the Redistricting Committee, Personnel and Pensions, and the Revenue and Finance Committee.
I admire Illinoisian Republican Congressman Adam Kisinger for his commitment to the rule of law. I am concerned that every Democrat in the Illinois State legislature voted for gerrymandered State legislative districts that enhances Democratic power in the short run while sewing divisions and/or voter apathy in the future.
I spoke to perhaps 3,000 people on the street as I collected signatures for my nomination petition. I was encouraged by "Yes, sure, I know what it is you are doing." But I received too many responses like, "I've moved my registration or I vote elsewhere." " I don't vote." "I don't do politics." "I hate Democrats." I dedicate myself to updating the Revoluntary War motto, "We must hang together or we will hang separately" I want to strenghten our vision of ourselves as Illinoisians and Americans who can and want to work together for the common good.
Always remember you are unique, just like everyone else!
Compromise is necessary; capitulation sews future problems. Finding common ground is the first step to compromise that is compromise and not capitulation.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 25, 2022


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