Registration deadline nears

Tuesday is the deadline to register to vote in the March 20 primary election. That date is close at hand, so we encourage people to be sure they are registered.

If you want to check on your registration status, several options exist.

Go online and visit the Illinois State Board of Elections website at www.elections.il.gov/VotingInformation/RegistrationLookup.aspx. Once there, type in your name and ZIP code, and the site will tell whether you are registered.

Another way to find out is to contact the county clerk’s office in your county:

Lee: 815-288-3309

Whiteside: 815-772-5189

Ogle: 815-732-1110

Carroll: 815-244-0221

Bureau: 815-875-2014

If they tell you that you’re registered, great.

If you’re not, make arrangements to get the job done by Tuesday.

If the deadline is missed, people can opt for grace-period registration and voting, where someone registers in person at the county clerk’s office and votes on the spot. That can be done from Feb. 22 through March 13.

People have many reasons to vote in the primary.

Party nominees are needed for president, U.S. House, state Senate and House, state’s attorney, circuit clerk, coroner, regional school superintendent (where vacancies exist), party delegates and alternates, and precinct committeemen.

Not all offices have competition, of course.

But it takes only one or two races to make the process very interesting.

Who’ll be the Democratic nominee to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling in the 17th District?

Which sitting congressman will win the GOP nomination in the 16th District?

Who will Republicans nominate to run for 90th District Illinois House?

Who will Democrats nominate to run for 36th District Senate and 71st District House?

Races exist for GOP nominations for state’s attorney in Lee, Whiteside and Carroll counties, as well as the GOP circuit clerk’s nomination in Ogle County.

Then there are several county board primary races across the region, and some communities have ballot propositions.

Elections are when voters exert their will directly over who runs the government and who decides how tax dollars are spent.

With myriad problems facing national, state and local governments, top-notch people certainly are needed to solve them, now more than ever.