Crespo forges ahead as outsider Democrat takes challenge with little party support.(News)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), November, 2006 | by Fanselow, Ed

Byline: Ed Fanselow Daily Herald Staff Writer For as long as he can remember, Fred Crespo has played the part of the outsider. Born in Chicago, his family moved to Puerto Rico when he was 10, forcing him into a new school and a new way of life. Seven years later, he moved again, this time back to the states and straight to Chicago's Loyola University.

Crespo is reprising the outsider role yet again with his bid to unseat longtime Republican state Rep. Terry Parke and become one of the first suburban Latinos elected to go to Springfield. As if that weren't enough of a challenge, the Democrat and first-term Hoffman Estates trustee is doing it all without the full backing of his party. Although Crespo was recruited for the campaign by House Democrats...