Working for Illinois Caucus

Democratic State Re. Katie Stuart 112th District will face a primary opponent.

Veteran 112th District Democratic State Rep. Katie Stuart will once again have an opponent in next year’s general election.

What she won’t have is an opponent in the March 17 primary.

Halley Johnson, 20, of Granite City, filed nominating petitions Oct. 31 to be on the Democratic primary ballot. However, those petitions have been challenged by Sue Edwina Betts of Edwardsville. The Illinois State Board of Elections will conduct a hearing on Bett’s petition objections on Nov. 18.

Katie Stewart

It will likely be a brief hearing. According to the Illinois State Board of Elections Candidate Guide, anyone seeking to qualify for the 2026 primary ballot as an established party candidate must file signatures from “At least 500 but not more than 1,500 of the qualified primary electors of their party in their representative district.”

Johnson, who personally circulated all her nominating petition sheets, filed 26 sheets with the ISBE, which contained no more than 260 signatures.

Johnson said she “Brings a new standard of leadership to District 112 Granite City,” and is counting on voters “who have grown weary of waiting for relief on issues like property taxes and healthcare costs.”

Republican Jimmy Ford, an alderperson on the O’Fallon city council, filed 106 pages nominating petitions Oct. 27 to run in the GOP primary for the 112th House seat. Among those circulating petition sheets for Ford were 111th GOP State Rep. Amy Elik, R-111.

Ford owns several small businesses in the Metro East area, including a vehicle repossession business. He also volunteers as a First Officer/Diver for the O’Fallon Underwater Search and Recovery.

Ford will have a steep hill to trek. Stuart, of Edwardsville, took office in 2017 after defeating Republican incumbent Dwight D. Kay. She has held off several Republican challengers since then.

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Stuart has more than $500,000 in her war chest, and Democratic House leadership has shown it’s ready and able to pour north of $1.5 million to defend her seat, funding numerous mailers, digital ads radio and television ads.

In the deep red southern third of Illinois, there are few blue House districts, particularly in the wake of Democrats losing the 114th House district in 2022, a seat the GOP successfully defended in 2024, despite being outspent by a 6-1 ratio.

But St. Clair County, and western Madison County still have Democratic strongholds, including Stuart, and Jay Hoffman in the 113th House. Democratic House and state party leadership have made it clear they will spend big to defend those seats.

Republican House leadership had high hopes in 2024 for Jay Keeven, a former chief of police with 35 years in law enforcement and a city administrator. Keeven survived an attempt by the Democrat-dominated legislature to block his candidacy and those of others through a rapidly passed law banning those who had not won a March primary contest from being on the general election ballot.

Keeven campaigned hard, but Stuart raised more than $1.8 million in her 2024 race, while Keeven managed just over $300,000, and lost by 4,240 votes and an 8.4 percent margin. That was the same margin and vote total Stuart won by in 2022.

Stuart was able to not only send back $202,100 to Democrats for the Illinois House two weeks prior to the election, she transferred $68,500 each to LaToya Greenwood’s campaign in the 114th district, and to Friends of Marti Deuter in the west suburban Chicago 45th District.

Stuart has the support of more than fellow Democrats. In 2024, the Illinois Farm Bureau’s political PAC, which generally favors Republicans, contributed $18,600 in in-kind spending on local radio and digital ads.

Illinois State representative Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, announced that her district office will once again serve as a Toys for Tots donation site this holiday season. Residents are invited to bring new toys, books, and unwrapped gifts to Kifowit’s district office at 1677 Montgomery Road, suite 116 in Aurora. Donations will be accepted through December 3.

“I am proud of my continued partnership with Toys for Tots and honored to be able to serve the children and families of the 84th District,” said Kifowit. “Now, more than ever, it is important that we work together to make a difference in the lives of our friends and neighbors. Every toy donated to Toys for Tots will bring the joy and magic of the holiday season to children throughout our community.”

Donations are being accepted at Representative Kifowit’s district office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays. Representative Kifowit is asking for special consideration for toy donations for children under 18 months and 10-14 years old as these age groups are often overlooked. Stuffed animals and plushies are not being accepted.

For more information about representative Kifowit’s Holiday Toys for Tots Drive, please contact her office at 630-585-1308 or email stephanie.kifowit@att.net.

— Illinois State representative Stephanie Kifowit

ROCKFORD, Ill. — A bill that was said to bring down rising energy costs for Illinois residents was passed by a local politician.

State Representative Dave Vella (D-Rockford) joined Illinois House Democrats in passing a bill that looks to bring down home energy bills both now and in the future.

"Every Illinoisan deserves affordable, reliable energy," Vella said. "Families for too long have been paying the price for decisions made by big utility companies. This bill finally lowers the costs of utility bills while increasing accountability."

Many Illinoisans have seen home energy costs "skyrocket", said Vella. He said increased power demands from tech companies and a Washington tax bill could result in a $9.5 billion increase in state energy costs.

The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (Senate Bill 25) is said to focus on storing clean energy to relieve Ameren and ComEd customers, building out energy grids to increase battery storage, and investing in energy efficiency programs to lower electricity prices.

It was also said the Act will create up to 115,000 jobs, including over 50,000 manufacturing jobs in Illinois.

"This legislation is about making Illinois stronger," said Vella. "By investing in clean energy and modern infrastructure, we’re not only reducing bills, we’re creating thousands of new jobs."

Illinois lawmakers approved more than 20 bills during the recently-concluded fall veto session. State Rep. Sharon Chung, a Democrat from Bloomington, is relieved to see that one bill did not pass.

State lawmakers tried unsuccessfully during the recent veto session to regulate homeowners insurance rates, something every other state does.

Chung noted the community’s long history with two of its area’s top employers, State Farm and Country Financial, in opposing price controls.

“We have a really rich history here with State Farm, and I wanted to make sure that whatever we did wasn’t going to regulate it in a way that would make it not friendly for State Farm to be viable here in Illinois,” Chung said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas.

It was State Farm’s 27% rate increase for property and casualty insurance in Illinois earlier this year that prompted Gov. JB Pritzker to call for tougher regulations on the insurance industry. He accused State Farm of making Illinois customers pay for disasters in other states, a claim State Farm denies.

The state then took State Farm to court, alleging the insurer has refused to turn over policy data to regulators. Chung said she’s concerned all the heat on State Farm could cause them or another insurer to leave the state.

“I’ve spoken with folks in the governor’s office and expressed my very deep concerns,” Chung said, adding she hasn’t heard back.

A message sent to the governor’s office was not immediately returned.

State Farm said in a statement the price control legislation would have hurt, not helped, Illinois consumers.

“We remain committed to working with state officials to find solutions to protect both consumers and market stability,” spokesperson Gina Morss-Fischer said. “We support solutions like strengthening homes and properties against extreme weather, promoting accurate pricing and reining in lawsuit abuse.”

State Farm is Bloomington-Normal’s largest employer with an estimated 13,000 employees. Country Financial has about 3,000 employees in the community, making it the fourth largest, according to the City of Bloomington.

Public transit

State lawmakers approved $1.5 billion for public transit during the recent veto session. Most of the money goes to Chicago area transit. Chung said Democrats are working on legislation to ensure that money doesn’t get diverted from downstate road construction to pay for transit as some downstate Republican lawmakers have suggested could happen.

“We’re still trying to figure that out. Maybe it’s just assurances that we can try to get a little bit more money for downstate; I’m not quite sure how that’s going to look,” Chung said, adding that state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, is working on legislation to address that concern.

Chung notes the bill boosts funding for public transit without any statewide tax increases.

“The fact that we were able to pass this without any new taxes is a huge win for me,” Chung said.

Downstate transit agencies, including Connect Transit, did not get as much funding as they had hoped.

Medical Aid in Dying

Pritzker has said he hasn’t decided whether he will sign a bill that allows doctors to prescribe end-of-life medications for terminally ill patients. The Illinois Senate passed the measure last week after it cleared the Illinois House this spring. Chung said she came around to support legislation to allow medical aid in dying after talking with advocates, including hospice care workers and families who have a terminally-ill loved one.

“It comes down to the decision between the patient and their doctor. We’re not compelling doctors to have to do this, it’s just giving the ability for somebody to explore these options at the end of their life,” Chung said.

Chung said if the governor vetoes the bill, she doesn’t think there will be enough support to override the veto.

Energy bill

Illinois lawmakers approved the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act [CRGA], the largest change to Illinois’ energy policy in at least four years. It’s intended to lower energy costs, through expanded energy storage, even though it comes with a new charge that electric customers will pay starting in 2030.

Chung said the bill is intended to increase energy capacity to meet demand.

“We knew this was a real issue we would have to deal with,” Chung said. “Right now if we continue on the same trajectory, your rates will keep going up year after year."

The measure also lifts a longtime ban on new nuclear power developments, which Chung supports.

“We’re trying to get to clean energy goals and nuclear is one of those options we can do,” Chung said. “That’s just one step in trying to get there.”

Emergency funding

It’s not clear how long the state’s emergency funding for food pantries will last as the federal government shutdown continues.

Chung said lawmakers prepared for this uncertainty when they set aside $100 million in emergency funding in the state budget last spring.

“SNAP right now is a huge issue for so many across the state. I think that we and the General Assembly—and at least the House Democratic caucus—we see that as a good use of that money,” Chung said.

Pritzker approved $20 million for food pantries in an executive order last week.

Chung said she’s not sure Illinois would be able to consider a supplemental budget if more emergency relief is needed, given the budget challenges Illinois expects to face again next year.

“That would be a very, very huge issue to take on right now,” Chung said.