Eva-Dina Delgado, Lilian Jimenez, La Shawn Ford, Ann Williams, Margaret Croke, Hoan Huynh – Chicago Tribune

In Springfield’s post-Michael Madigan era, how much of a dent can Republicans make into the viselike grip that Democrats have on the Illinois House of Representatives? To what extent will candidates’ stances on pivotal national issues such as abortion, gun control and inflation hold sway in these races?

Of the House’s 118 seats, 78 feature contested races. Here’s the first installment of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for Illinois House contests. We begin with Chicago’s 3rd District, which includes the largely Latino Belmont Cragin neighborhood and parts of other Northwest Side communities.

Bill Clinton was president the last time this district had a contested race in the general election. In 1996, Democrat Miguel Santiago beat Augusto Montijo, and since then Democrats haven’t had an opponent. Until now. Democratic incumbent Eva-Dina Delgado faces Republican Jonathan Serrano, who owns a financial services practice.

Delgado has been much better for this district than her predecessor, Luis Arroyo, who earlier this year was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for trying to bribe a state senator and was referred to by U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger as a “corruption superspreader.” Delgado has sponsored legislation to combat Chicago’s carjacking epidemic, including a bill that ramps up funding for law enforcement to go after the problem. She also was one of 19 Democratic lawmakers who voted against keeping Michael Madigan as House speaker. Her résumé before Springfield includes jobs as chief of staff for the head of Peoples Gas, vice president of legislative affairs at the CTA and legislative counsel for Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Serrano, 36, correctly says that the anchor to any plan aimed at fixing Illinois’ dismal financial outlook is a pension reform referendum that would ask voters to amend the Illinois Constitution to reduce future benefit growth while leaving current earned benefits untouched. We think Serrano has a future in state politics, but Delgado is the better choice. She is endorsed.

Democrat Lilian Jimenez says the Madigan investigation exposed the danger of allowing corporate giants like ComEd to wield so much influence in state politics. “Codifying restrictions on corporate contributions to political campaigns will be a major step toward limiting corruption,” she told us. The 44-year-old lawyer from Humboldt Park has a strong résumé. She is director of the Office of Welcoming Centers for Immigrant and Refugee Services at the Illinois Department of Human Services, and previously worked as chief of staff for Jesus “Chuy” Garcia when he was a Cook County commissioner, and director of the fair labor standards division at the Illinois Department of Labor. She is running against Republican J.D. Sloat, a 34-year-old commercial real estate broker who wants to cap property taxes for homeowners. We endorse Jimenez.

Democratic incumbent Sonya Harper has held this seat since 2015. She is a former television news producer and reporter, and joint chairperson of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. She has not responded to our requests to learn more about her policy positions. Her opponent, Republican Leonard Griffin, is a truck driver who says the answer to reforming the troubled Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is to eliminate the agency. That’s not a tenable solution. We make no endorsement in this race.

In 2012, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch won the Democratic primary for this west suburban district by a razor-thin margin of 36 votes, defeating fellow Democrat Rory Hawkins. Since then, he has had no competition in every 7th District race except for the 2016 primary, when he beat Chris Harris. Welch was a longtime ally of Madigan, his predecessor as speaker and now a defendant in an upcoming federal trial on corruption charges.

The west suburban Hillside lawmaker could have distinguished himself from the Madigan era by pushing for a decennial remap that, for once, was not a behind-closed-doors exercise in ensuring Democratic Party dominance for years to come. He could have remembered the op-ed he penned in 2016 that called for an independent commission that would move Illinois away from a remap process that “often has been criticized as too political and one where voters are left without a voice.” His words, not ours.

Alas, Welch and fellow Democrats duped voters again, and passed a remap that ensured one-party rule in Springfield. His opponent, Republican Eddie Kornegay of Forest Park, is a director of a community reentry program for inmates who says Illinoisans “deserve a fresh start and new beginning in leadership in Springfield.” We make no endorsement in this race.

On many fronts, Democratic incumbent La Shawn Ford’s views hew closely to ours. He backs a referendum that would ask voters to amend the Illinois Constitution to reform the state’s broken pension system by reducing future benefit growth to affordable levels while leaving alone current earned benefits. He also supports having voters decide, through a referendum, whether to amend the state constitution to overhaul Illinois’ decennial redistricting process so that citizens get a seat at the table for future legislative remaps. He wants to give Illinoisans tax relief through a property tax freeze and sees merit in whittling down the roster of taxing districts in the state — Illinois right now has nearly 7,000 units of local government.

His GOP opponent, Thomas Hurley, is a retired financial crimes investigator from LaGrange Park and a former village trustee for that western suburb. Ford is endorsed.

Democrat incumbent Ann Williams has capably served this district, which includes parts of the Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods, since 2011. Vying for a seventh term, Williams, 54, has a strong dialogue with 11th District constituents, and was one of the 19 House Democrats who refused to back Madigan for another term as House speaker.

The Republican in the race, Marc James, 61, works in hotel management and says he’s the right choice because “I am not interested in a career as a politician … I am old enough that I don’t care about making political niceties at the expense of government debt.” We endorse Williams.

Two millennials are vying to represent this district, which includes parts of the Old Town, Streeterville, Gold Coast and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. Republican George Kemper, 28, served as a machine-gunner and mortar man while deployed to Syria in 2019. He sees term limits as the answer to the scale of corruption that has tainted Illinois politics for decades.

Democratic incumbent Margaret Croke, 30, won this seat by defeating a crowded, talented field in the 2020 Democratic primary. She’s a former deputy chief of staff for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under the administration of Gov. J.B. Pritzker. As a member of the House Revenue and Finance Committee, Croke has helped push through tax credits for businesses as a way to stoke investment and job growth. Croke voted against Madigan’s retention as House speaker and says, “I would take that vote again in a heartbeat.” We endorse Croke.

Hoan Huynh won the Democratic primary by beating his party’s preferred choice, Eileen Dordek — who was endorsed by Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin — and three other talented opponents. We don’t ascribe to everything in Huynh’s progressive agenda, but there’s a lot to like.

He believes it’s time for Illinois to overhaul redistricting by giving citizens a major voice in the process. He also wants to ferret out wasteful spending in Springfield and would work to do away with needless red tape that impedes small business growth. He wants to rein in the influence of big money in Illinois politics, and correctly sees a need to strengthen the state’s Freedom of Information Act by expanding its scope and making penalties for noncompliance more severe.

Huynh, 33, is an investment projects leader for a community investments organization called Chicago Beyond who would become the state legislature’s first Vietnamese American if elected. His Republican opponent, Alper Turan, 51, is an adjunct professor at City Colleges of Chicago who wants to see a 10-year reduction in property taxes and consolidation of local governments where warranted. Our endorsement in this district, which includes parts of the Lincoln Square, Uptown, Andersonville and Lakeview neighborhoods, goes to Huynh.

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