Working for Illinois Caucus

Stephanie Kifowit is looking toward home.

After nearly 14 years representing the 84th District in the Illinois House, the Oswego resident has filed her petition to run for village trustee in her hometown in next spring’s election.

It’s a return that feels right to Kifowit, even if the path here wasn’t exactly what she had planned. Her bid for Illinois comptroller ended in defeat in the March Democratic primary, when she came in last in a competitive four-way race.

Losing wasn’t easy for the long-serving state rep, who entered politics in 2003 when she won a seat on Aurora City Council. But this statewide race was particularly discouraging because “I thought I had support from people who ultimately did not come through,” she told me.

“When you are too trusting, you get burned,” continued Kifowit, referring not only to perceived allies who stopped returning her calls but to “taking advice” from the wrong people.

Although grateful for “lots of good endorsements,” Kifowit said she did not get the strong financial backing she’d counted on. And that meant running a statewide campaign on a “shoestring budget” that relied heavily on traditional grassroots efforts like yard signs and door-to-door interactions, without the resources to compete effectively in the digital arena.

Still, Kifowit does not consider the campaign a waste. For one thing, “you have to be willing to take risks in order to go forward in life,” she insisted.

Plus, she met many extraordinary people across the state she would not otherwise have encountered. And that led not only to lasting friendships but experiences that Kifowit believes helped her grow and more deeply appreciate the “diversity” and “uniqueness” of Illinois.

That campaign, however, also meant giving up her seat in the General Assembly, which she’d won decidedly in elections over the years, in large part because of her reputation for working across party lines and for helping frustrated or desperate constituents.

And “that service mentality is hard to turn off,” Kifowit insisted, which is why this return to local government makes sense for the next chapter in her 55 years of life.

“I’ve always been involved with village officials … it seemed a natural fit,” she said of her decision to run for an open position on the Oswego Village Board.

The village is “growing rapidly,” noted Kifowit, who believes her years in Springfield have given her connections and experience she can put to use in addressing local concerns.

As an example, she told me about a woman recently struggling with an insurance company while her husband needed a critical operation. Because the veteran lawmaker knew whom to call, Kifowit was able to cut through the red tape in about a day and a half and get the surgery approved.

It’s a reminder that government is not always about passing legislation or debating policy but about knowing what door to knock.

To Kifowit, “it’s what service is about.” And even though her years in Springfield are winding down, she wanted constituents to understand that commitment to helping people isn’t ending when her legislative term expires.

“My phone number, my email is not changing,” she told me.

Still, there’s no question life will be different for the outgoing state representative. In June, Kifowit was named executive director of the Construction Industry Service Corporation, a non-profit labor-management association representing unionized construction trades in Cook, DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Kane and Kendall counties.

It’s a job that will bring her back to Springfield as a lobbyist, she told me, saying that her “record of bipartisan legislation lends directly to cultivate trust between stakeholders and a large part of the construction industry in legislation that happens in Springfield.”

It’s a transition, however, that brings plenty of emotion. Kifowit admitted to “some sadness” at this career crossroads, especially for the uncertainty facing her staff, who have become “like family” while doing “yeoman’s work” for those in the district.

“People are struggling,” she said, and politics has become a “cage match” where “compromise is a bad word” and special interest money has all but decimated any form of statesmanship.

“I am going to profoundly miss quite a few things about being able to help affect big change for people,” Kifowit concluded. “But I am not going to miss some of the games.”

dcrosby@tribpub.com