Illinois' 3rd Congressional District Race: Ramirez Looks To Defeat GOP Challenger

WHEATON, IL – Like many of the Chicago area's congressional districts, the 3rd District covers part of heavily Democratic Chicago and then snakes into more moderate or conservative suburbs.

In 2022, Delia Ramirez, the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, was elected to the House, defeating her Republican opponent, Justin Burau, with more than two-thirds of the vote.

The district includes parts of suburbs such as Wheaton and Glen Ellyn.

In Tuesday's election, Ramirez's Republican opponent is John Booras.

Given the district's Democratic makeup, Ramirez is favored to win in another landslide.

According to the latest Federal Election Commission reports, Ramirez had raised $988,000 as of mid-October, compared with Booras' $1,840.

Incumbents, particularly those in safe districts, typically far out-raise their challengers.

Neither candidate answered Patch's questionnaire.

Ramirez, a former state legislator, has worked as a social services administrator and a community organizer, according to Ballotpedia.

Booras is a lawyer who has also worked as a police officer.

On Booras' campaign website, he said he would fight for school voucher programs as a right for all students. He said he would oppose requirements for sexual and sexuality-based education for students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.

Booras proposed to increase the childcare deduction for families to $12,000 annually, which he said matches true childcare costs.

And he also pushed for giving federal tax breaks to homeowners in areas with high property taxes relative to the rest of the United States.

On her website, Ramirez said she does not take money from corporate PACS, the fossil fuel industry, pharmaceutical companies and the NRA.

As for immigration, Ramirez said she understands the importance of creating a pathway to citizenship for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, those who were taken to the country illegally as children.

"She unwaveringly advocates for a pathway to citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented people in the U.S.," Ramirez's campaign website said. "She is fighting to allow DACA recipients the ability to permanently adjust their legal status, to eliminate the case backlog in immigration court, to reduce fees so that more people can file for citizenship, and to end deportations to keep families together."