IL Senate 25th District: Villa, Ward Vie For Oberweis' Open Seat

ILLINOIS — Come January, Illinois’ 25th Senate District will have a representative from outside Kane County for the first time in decades.

Democratic State Rep. Karina Villa and Republican Jeanette Ward, both of West Chicago, are running to replace Jim Oberweis, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville) for her seat in Congress.

Oberweis, of Sugar Grove, held the seat for eight years after succeeding current Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen, of Aurora, who was the 25th District’s senator from 1993 to 2013.

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Illinois’ 25th Senate District includes portions of Aurora, Bartlett, Batavia, Campton Hills, Elburn, Geneva, Montgomery, Naperville, North Aurora, Oswego, Plano, South Elgin, St. Charles, Sugar Grove, Warrenville, Wayne, West Chicago and Yorkville.

Karina Villa (Democratic Party)

Villa is seeking to make the step up to the Illinois State Senate after one term as the representative for the state’s 49th House District.

As a former West Chicago social worker and Villa Park and West Chicago school board member, Villa has made education one of the main focuses of her campaign.

Villa has said she will work to provide “equitable and adequate” funding for school districts and expand families’ access to early childhood education.

“A quality education should be accessible to all students at every level and educators need support and resources to continue helping our students grow,” Villa says on her campaign website.

If elected to the Illinois Senate, Villa said she will work toward a public option for health insurance and comprehensive immigration reform.

She ran unopposed in March for the Democratic Party’s nomination.

Villa has earned the endorsements of the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Herald and Kane County Chronicle.

Jeanette Ward (Republican Party)

Ward, who served one term on the Elgin Area School District U-46 board, says she is running to “protect freedom, faith and family.”

The most important issues in the 25th Senate District are taxes, corruption and maintaining police funding, Ward told the Aurora Beacon-News earlier this month.

If elected, Ward said she would work to cut taxes and regulations to make the state “more competitive” for businesses looking to relocate. Her platform also calls for lower taxes on Illinois families “to stem the tide of families leaving the state for good.”

Ward has advocated for ethics reform in Springfield after federal prosecutors revealed in July that Commonwealth Edison tried to bribe Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) between 2011 and 2019.

She has also said she would introduce legislation to require Illinois agencies to buy from companies located in the state when possible.

Ward earned 59.6 percent of the vote during the Republican primary in March to defeat Beth Goncher for the nomination.

Election 2020: the basics

• Election date: Nov. 3
• Registration deadline(s): Nov. 3 (in person); Oct. 18 (online)
• Same-day registration: Yes
• Early voting started: Sept. 24 (ends Nov. 2)
• Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (postmarked); Nov. 17 (received)

Election Day is Tuesday. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.