I spent the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday taking a memorable road trip with my family. At about 6 a.m., my wife, Jennifer, our two children and I piled in our car and headed from Chicago for Springfield. The deadline for filing nominating petitions for the 5th Congressional District special election was Monday at 5 p.m., and the petitions had to be filed at the main office of the State Board of Elections in Springfield. After two necessary stops (which occur often with children), we made it and the petitions were filed at 10:19.

Jennifer and I decided that this was an important event not just in my life but in our family’s. My family is with me, and I need that. It was important that we took that first part of the journey together.

Plus, the kids got to see Springfield, the beautiful capitol of our state. By that time, though, the kids were more interested in McDonalds. (Yes, we stopped.)