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Illinois Candidate Makes Parkinson's An Issue Former journalist says incumbent too weak Disease does not define him, rival insists SHARON COHEN ... ASSOCIATED PRESS CORDOVA, Ill.His walk is a bit stiff, his voice is soft and his words are sometimes a bit slurred, but as U.S. Representative Lane Evans wades through a crowd of supporters this night, he is eager to deliver a message. The country band, The Posse, stops playing and the drinks stop flowing as Evans takes the microphone. The congressman has heard the whispers that after nine years of fighting Parkinson's disease, he should call it quits. That, he says, is not going to happen. He's still primed for a fight. "I may be slow," he says with a slight smile, "but I know which way to go." The blue-jean crowd, perched on long benches, stands and cheers. These are die-hard Democrats: union members, seniors, a few farmers. Some are wearing "Thank Heavens for Lane Evans" T-shirts. They all know the congressman is ill. They insist it doesn't matter. But Evans' health has been a campaign issue ever since his Republican opponent, Andrea Zinga, announced her candidacy and declared she was "sorry to report" the congressman no longer has the physical stamina for the job. "I don't see how you can do a job as strenuous as being an advocate for people night and day when your health is a preoccupation," says Zinga, a former CNN anchor and reporter. Zinga says the Number 1 issue in the race is jobs, and she blames the 11-term congressman for not doing enough to keep high-paying manufacturing jobs in the district. But it's also legitimate, she says, to call attention to Evans' health. "This has nothing to do with disabled people," she says. "It has everything to do with one man doing one job." A candidate's health rarely surfaces as a campaign issue in the United States, and this is even more the case in Canada, where being a quadriplegic did not stop Conservative Steven Fletcher from defeating former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray in the last federal election. So the pointed questions about Evans' illness have angered some supporters and stirred debate among others about what role a medical condition should play in an election. Evans says having Parkinson's a progressive neurological disease does not define him as a private citizen or a public official. "I'm a former Marine," he says. "I come from a Catholic upbringing and a working-class family. Those things say much more about me than some illness I have." Evans, 53, says his battle with Parkinson's has made him more aware of the shortcomings of the country's health care system. "What it taught me is there are a lot of people who are falling through the cracks and can't afford the medications that I can as a member of Congress," he says. This is the first time Evans' health has been addressed so bluntly during a campaign. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1995 but didn't go public for three years, worried the revelation would stigmatize him. He no longer drives and has trouble with hand-eye co-ordination. He needs extra time to get out of a car and often a helping hand to get up from a chair. He also works with a speech therapist weekly. But his illness, he insists, "doesn't prevent me from doing my job 365 days a year." While Zinga hopes to replace Evans, she says she isn't necessarily advocating his retirement. "I'm not saying the man can't work," she says. "He presumably has a body of knowledge from his years in Congress. He is able to be a lobbyist or a consultant." But Evans sees his future in just one place Congress. He says his work and supporters keep him going. "I live for this job," he says. "I would give it up very reluctantly. And I don't see it happening, unless it's the ballot box or the pine box." SOURCE: The Toronto Star http://tinyurl.com/6kqqs * * * Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> Please place this address in your address book Please purge all others Web site: Parkinsons Resources on the WWWeb http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn