Working for Illinois Caucus

DECATUR — Following an election season dominated by debate over Illinois’ SAFE-T Act, incumbent State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, has won reelection over her opponent in the race for the 96th Illinois House District.

With 100% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, unofficial results showed Scherer defeating political newcomer Lisa Smith by nearly 5,000 votes. Scherer earned 17,828 votes, compared to Smith’s 12,916. 

Scherer spent election night with family and supporters at her own home rather than somewhere having a watch party as results came in.

 “I’m very happy,” she said. “I don’t like all that big hoopla stuff.”

 Her son sent her a text when it was clear she’d won, she said.

 “He said he was so proud of me for continuing to fight to make the community a better place, and I think that says it all,” Scherer said.

The 96th District was drawn to favor Democrats. 

Illinois Democrats, who controlled the state’s post-Census redistricting process, carved down the district so it stretched from the urban cores of Springfield to Decatur and excluded rural communities such as Kincaid, Edinburg, Stonington and Blue Mound. 

The 96th was also the only contested House race in Macon County. William Hauter, R-Morton, in the 87th; Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, in the 88th; Tim Butler, R-Springfield, in the 95th; and Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, in the 107th all ran unopposed. 

A full-time legislator, Scherer has served in the Illinois House since January 2013. She previously worked as a teacher in the Decatur and Maroa-Forsyth public school districts for over 30 years.  

Scherer serves on multiple education committees, including Elementary & Secondary Education Appropriations and Higher Education. 

Scherer faced criticisms from Smith and from other local Republicans for her vote in support of the SAFE-T Act in 2021. As one of just 60 House members who voted for the act, and as one of the final representatives to cast her vote, Scherer was one of the bill’s deciding votes. 

Smith said it was Scherer’s SAFE-T Act vote that helped convince her to run. 

Smith is a pediatric nurse practitioner from Auburn. She spent much of her campaign rallying against the SAFE-T Act, arguing that it should be repealed and replaced. 

In an interview earlier this month, Scherer told the Herald & Review she stood by her vote. The elimination of Illinois’ cash bail system could stand to help certain minority populations, she said. 

“For people to say that, you know, rapists are going to be running free, that is just, it’s inciting unnecessary fear is what it’s doing,” she said. 

Scherer said would support trailer bills amending the SAFE-T Act but declined to specify which changes she’d like to see. Democratic SAFE-T Act discussions are ongoing leading up to the legislature’s veto session Nov. 15-17.

State Representative Mike Halpin had a considerable lead at press time over Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms for the 36th legislative district.

Halpin appeared at press time to have won Rock Island County by nearly 60% to 40%.

Halpin has been a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 72nd district since 2017. 

In a questionnaire sent by the Dispatch-Argus/Quad-City Times, Halpin said his top priority is continuing to protect the middle class by monitoring inflation and targeting tax cuts like suspending the grocery tax, freezing the gas tax increase, and offering property tax rebates to offset increased costs working families face. 

The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, Equity-Today Act, known as the SAFE-T Act, has been a controversial issue throughout this election season. 

Halpin voted for the original passage of the SAFE-T Act in January 2021, along with the two trailer bills. 

When asked in the questionnaire, Halpin said he echoes the position of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police in that the general assembly does need to make some changes but keep the best parts of the law intact. 

“It ensures that mental health and other support services are available to police,” Halpin wrote. “The act also mandates the use of body cameras, which both law enforcement and the communities they serve say helps bring trust and accountability to the work they do.” 

Outside of being a member of the Illinois General Assembly, he has been practicing law for the past five years at the Rock Island firm of McCarthy, Callas, & Feeney, P.C.

Halpin also serves on the Board of Directors for Bridging the Gap: Stand Down for Homeless Veterans, and provides free consultations, and some pro bono representation for veterans in need.

DECATUR — Incumbent state Rep. Sue Scherer was the one of the final House votes for the SAFE-T Act in 2021.

In sum, 60 House members voted in favor of the act, 50 voted in opposition, and three did not vote. Scherer’s was thus one of the deciding votes effectively passing the bill. Now, the Decatur Democrat is about to face a challenger who says it was Scherer’s SAFE-T Act vote that helped convince her to run. 

Lisa Smith, a political newcomer who ardently opposes the act, argues it will lead to multiple unintended consequences. 

With Election Day now just days away, the SAFE-T Act is its own battleground for both candidates. 

According to her website, Scherer was born and raised in Decatur. She attended St. Teresa High School, later graduating with her bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and her master’s from Eastern Illinois University.   

Scherer is a full-time legislator who first took office in 2013. Previously, she worked as a teacher in the Decatur and Maroa-Forsyth school districts for over 30 years.  

Scherer serves on the Elementary & Secondary Education Appropriations, Higher Education, and Small Business Tech Innovation committees, among others. She is also the chairperson of the Elementary & Secondary Education: Administration, Licensing & Charter Schools committee. 

She has four children and eight grandchildren and lives in Decatur. 

Born in Brownstown, Smith is a pediatric nurse practitioner who practiced for 14 years in Decatur and now works in Springfield. She has not worked in politics or run for office before. 

She earned an associate degree from Lake Land College in 1988 and a bachelor’s degree from Millikin University in 1992. She later graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a doctorate of nursing practice in 2003. 

Smith lives south of Mount Auburn, and some of her 10 children still attend Taylorville schools. 

With local candidates, state’s attorneys and even the governor all recently sharing their input on the SAFE-T Act, the law has come to the forefront of nearly all Illinois races. 

Illinois’ Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act (SAFE-T Act) was passed by Democrats in the middle of the night in early January 2021. Much of the law has already gone into effect, aside from its most controversial element – the “Pretrial Fairness Act,” which effectively abolishes Illinois’ cash bail system starting in January. 

Democrats argue abolishing cash bail will help prevent people from being jailed solely because they lack the funds to bond out while awaiting trial for nonviolent or low-level offenses.  

The new system still allows judges the discretion to order pretrial detention under specific circumstances, considering factors like a defendant’s danger to the public as well as their flight risk.

Smith said tackling crime is a priority for her. 

“You know, nobody wants people just walking in and turning around and walking out if they have done a crime that is violent, and where they could be a danger to people,” Smith said. 

“I think what we should do is repeal and replace with something that takes the good parts of the act, puts it in there, and takes out the bad things that aren’t going to help, that are going to, you know, make our citizens unsafe,” she said. 

Smith didn’t name any particular provisions she would choose to remain in effect but said she’s been in communication with multiple law enforcement officers regarding how the bill’s language would affect their jobs.  

Like many Republicans, one of Smith’s core frustrations is that the bill was introduced in the middle of the night with little time for legislators to read it in its entirety. 

“Legislators signed this thing without reading it and without knowing if it was a good bill or not,” she said. “Just putting it through, because they’re rubber stamps for the Democrat Party. And that’s what my opponent did. She’s a rubber stamp for the Democrat party.” 

For her part, Scherer stands by her vote. 

“People don’t seem to really understand that there’s a lot of misinformation out there,” she said. 

Something the SAFE-T Act’s critics might misunderstand, Scherer said, is how the elimination of Illinois’ cash bail system could stand to help certain populations. 

“The bill was made to make it more fair for everyone,” she said. “And people are acting like they’re being punished by it. I feel like it’s, it makes it more fair for (the) working class and the middle class and the poor.” 

Under the cash bail system, she argued, lower income individuals might remain in pretrial detention for the same crimes a wealthier individual might be able to bond out on. 

“For people to say that, you know, rapists are going to be running free, that is just, it’s inciting unnecessary fear is what it’s doing,” she said. 

Still, Scherer said she would potentially support trailer bills that might further amend the SAFE-T Act. 

Like Smith, Scherer said she has met privately with local law enforcement officers and legal professionals regarding changes they may want to see to the law. 

In addition to clarifying the bill’s language, Scherer said she also hopes to see “several other” changes. She declined to specify which changes, though, as Democratic SAFE-T Act discussions are ongoing leading up to the legislature’s veto session Nov. 15-17. 

“With the negotiations going on, I want to just wait and see what’s in the final (trailer bill),” she said. “And then at that point, if there’s still things that I think need to be in there, you know, then I will be working behind the scenes to make sure that that is in place.” 

A district drawn for Democrats 

Scherer and Smith are running in a district strategically drawn to favor Democrats. 

Illinois Democrats, who controlled the state’s post-Census redistricting process, carved down the district from its former size in attempts to secure a seat for Democrats downstate, an area overwhelmingly represented by Republicans.  

The long, thin district stretches from the urban cores of Springfield to Decatur and features much unincorporated land in between. The current 96th District is even more compact than it was before, with its southernmost border now raised to exclude rural communities like Kincaid, Edinburg, Stonington and Blue Mound. 

According to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, the 96th District has an estimated Democratic vote share of 60.20%.

The project gave Illinois’ final State House map an “F” grade for geographic features, suggesting it features too many non-compact districts and “more county splits than typical.” 

“The General Assembly really divided up Macon County,” Macon County Clerk Josh Tanner told the Herald & Review. “We have five state reps, three state senators, two Congressional districts. And not only that, but the boundaries don’t even follow precinct boundaries. So in the very same polling place, in the same precinct, you could have some individuals voting for one Congressperson and some individuals voting for another Congressperson.” 

“It really confuses the voters when we have that many districts in the county,” he said. 

The 96th is the only contested House race in Macon County. William Hauter, R-Morton, in the 87th; Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, in the 88th; Tim Butler, R-Springfield, in the 95th; and Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, in the 107th are all running unopposed. 

The candidates’ other top issues 

Both candidates hope to tackle a number of other issues if elected.

Smith said she’s concerned about Illinois’ economic health and wants to ease the burdens of property taxes on Illinois homeowners. 

“We’re in a recession,” she said. “People are hurting.” 

An NRA member, Smith said she is in support of expanding local police forces and criticized state law enforcement mandates that don’t also provide funding. 

Smith also identifies as anti-abortion. She said she opposes Illinois’ “far-reaching abortion laws” and would vote against any pro-abortion legislation. 

In addition to pursuing potential changes to the SAFE-T Act, Scherer said she is also working on two new bills she hopes to pass in the upcoming legislative session – one that would help foster parents maintain access to SNAP and other social benefits and another relating to election accessibility services for elderly and/or disabled voters. 

According to her website, Scherer is also concerned with “fighting for equitable funding for local schools, and cutting wasteful spending while protecting critical programs and services for seniors, veterans, students, and middle-class families.”