GREEN PARTY EDGES ONTO BALLOT

BLOOMINGTON -- Central Illinois members of the Illinois Green Party hope to
grow enough support among dissatisfied voters to land a seat in Congress
and several positions on the McLean County Board. Carl Estabrook, 59, of
Champaign, filed petitions Monday with the State Board of Elections to put
his name on the November ballot in the 15th Congressional District.

Estabrook, a sociology professor at the University of Illinois, will face
Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson of Urbana and Democratic
challenger Joshua Hartke, 27, a research programmer at the U of I's College
of Veterinary Medicine.

Neither Estabrook nor Hartke have held elective office.

The 15th District covers 22 counties in east-central Illinois and parts of
the southeastern part of the state. It runs from Streator in the north to
Eldorado in the south, including about half of Bloomington-Normal.

The Green Party, led by unsuccessful presidential candidate Ralph Nader, is
generally viewed as an environmental organization.

Estabrook acknowledges Johnson has a good record on the environment. The
first-term congressman earned high marks from the Congressional watchdog
group, the League of Conservation Voters, for voting with environmentalists
on several key issues.

Among them was his successful opposition to President Bush's move to allow
oil drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.

But Estabrook said the Green Party's platform focuses on other critical
issues, such as a call for universal health care and opposition to the Bush
administration's war on terrorism, that separate it from Republicans and
Democrats.

"The most important thing is the Green Party is saying things the other
parties are not saying," Estabrook said.

While Nader garnered just 2 percent of the vote in Illinois -- with results
the same in McLean County and slightly higher in Champaign County --
Estabrook said he will seek support among eligible voters who do not go to
the polls because of dissatisfaction with the two major parties.

"Two-thirds don't vote. That's the crucial number," said Estabrook, who
pointed to a network of enthusiastic supporters who collected 7,617
signatures on his candidate petitions. State law requires just 5,000.

McLean County Board

Also on Monday, Phil Huckelberry, Adele Wheeler, Matt Reeder and Nick
Berveiler, all of the Twin Cities, filed petitions as Green Party
candidates for seats on the McLean County Board.

A spokesman for the McLean County clerk's office said Huckelberry and
Wheeler filed to run in District 5 against Republican incumbents B.H.
"Duffy" Bass and Ray Rodman and Democrat Sonny Sondra Rodgers.

Reeder and Berveiler filed to run in District 4 against Republican
incumbents Robert Arnold and Susie Johnson and Democrats Bryan Ballard and
Duane Moss. Voters will elect two candidates in both districts.

Huckelberry, a database developer, said the Green Party found support
during the petition drive by stressing smart growth and government
accountability. The platform on local issues will be enlarged as the
election nears, he added.

Wheeler, Reeder and Berveiler are Illinois State University students,
Huckelberry said.