Five Incumbents in Tough Fights for June 28 Primary
Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-Addison) is locked in a primary battle with Triton College Trustee Norma Hernandez.
With just five weeks to go to the June 28 primary, we take a quick look at five incumbents fighting for their political lives in hotly contested primaries.
Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-Addison)
Rep. Willis lost some friends in organized labor when she became the first member of former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s leadership team to defect from Madigan in December 2020. She briefly ran for Speaker herself before abandoning her bid. She is faced by Norma Hernandez, a trustee on the Triton College Board and urban planner at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Hernandez is backed by Congressman Chuy Garcia’s organization and is beginning to rake in the cash, mostly from unions. It appears she’s coming at Willis from the left. Hernandez reported just $8,500 in the bank at the end of March, but has raised over $128,000 in large contributions since then, mostly from unions. Willis had around $200,000 on hand at the end of March and has received $80,000 in help from her House Democrat colleagues over the past two months.
Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback (D-Skokie)
Rep. Wang Stoneback won her seat two years ago over appointed Rep. Yehiel Kalish of Chicago and Kevin Olickal of Skokie. She’s come under fire for hiring a former City of Evanston employee who had overlooked “pervasive” sexual harassment at the city’s public beaches. Olickal, a political consultant, is back this time around and getting support from the left. The senator for the district, Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) is behind Olickal, as is Sen. Karina Villa (D-West Chicago). Olickal filed with around $28,000 at the end of March and has raised over $100,000 since. Stoneback had around $58,000 on hand at the end of March and has raised about $25,000 since then. The House Democrats have also sent two mail pieces on her behalf. Stoneback is pretty solidly pro-choice, but is somehow being perceived as anti-abortion rights. It’s a mad world.
Rep. Mark Luft (R-Pekin)
I don’t know that Luft will really lose this race, but it is sure tearing the scab off of old Peoria political wounds and scuffing the already tender relationship between the House Republicans and Senate Republicans. As we told you last month, the race is a proxy battle between a LaHood/Spain wing of the Peoria GOP and a Weaver/Stoller wing of the party headed by consultant Steve Shearer. Spain is backing Luft, while former Sen. Chuck Weaver’s son, Travis, is challenging Luft. Weaver is up on TV and has a well known last name, but has an uphill battle.
Rep. Mike Kelly (D-Chicago)
Kelly is in a tough spot. The Chicago Firefighter was appointed to replace longtime former Rep. John D’Amico in November. Progressive Michael Rabbitt had already announced a challenge to D’Amico, who just rolled into a campaign with the newly appointed representative. Kelly obviously has a great ballot name, but Rabbitt has been working the district hard. Rabbitt only had about $28,000 on hand at the end of March and has reported just $1,000 in large donations since. Kelly had just $22,000 on March 31. He has raised about $85,000 since then. House Democrats have spent about another $55,000 on mail for Kelly. This will likely be a ground game heavy primary.
Sen. Eric Mattson (D-Joliet)
If it’s unfair to put Kelly on this list, it may be even less fair to put Mattson on this list. Mattson, a Joliet Firefighter, was appointed earlier this month to replace Sen. John Connor, who resigned in April. Connor wasn’t seeking re-election to the Senate to run for judge, and Mattson was in the primary race anyway. He faces progressive Will County Board member Rachel Ventura in what was already a contentious primary. Now Ventura is using the “old boys club” argument as a message against Mattson. Ventura had around $23,000 on hand at the end of March and has raised just $6,000 in large contributions since then. Mattson had just $1,000 cash on hand at the end of March, but the party has circled the wagons since his appointment. Mattson has reported over $200,000 since the end of April, mostly from firefighter unions and $75,000 from the Senate Democrats.