A handful of politicians switch parties, citing extremism. Others question their motives. – Daily Herald*

Since the 1990s, at least 10 suburban politicians have changed parties. Jim Zay, the DuPage Republican Party chairman and the longest-serving county board member, suggests switching parties is an opportunistic move. “They’re taking advantage of this situation where they think, ‘The Republican Party’s done in DuPage, and so I’m going to jump on board the Democratic side here and run for office and nobody will know,’” Zay said. “And I think the voters in DuPage County are a lot smarter than that.”