The 4th District is a four-way race between Democrat Patty García, 41, formerly the chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (no relation); Republican Lupe Castillo, who describes herself as “a dedicated community member, proud wife, and mother, striving to bring Pro-family values back to Illinois’ 4th Congressional District”; Working Class Party candidate Ed Hershey, 47, a sincere if introspective socialist very disappointed with the Democrats; and independent Chris Getty, 44, mayor of Lyons and also the Lyons Township supervisor.
Readers will likely remember the fracas surrounding Patty García’s ascendency to the Democratic nomination, effectively a coronation. To many people, including us, it looked like the congressman had deliberately timed his retirement announcement so as to make it impossible for other candidates to challenge his chief of staff in the Democratic primary. Indeed, the longtime congressman was censured in Congress for this matter, a subversion of democracy.
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This makes it impossible for us to endorse Patty García, which would be a de facto endorsement of this action, especially since in our editorial meeting she insisted the timing was entirely due to a personal emergency. We think she has been given bad political advice and would be better advised to say she just grabbed the opportunity and would hardly be the first to do so. Given that Chuy García continued to serve out his term despite the health issues his wife is experiencing and his new responsibilities as guardian of his grandchild, the other explanation does not hold water.
Having said that, we find García to be a genuine, likable person with an impressive story of individual achievement without much prior help (she did not need this favor). She told us that she wished she did not have to carry what is proving to be a “scarlet letter.” We agree with her dismay at the brutal tactics of ICE and we were intrigued that she told us the Democrat she most admired was Nancy Pelosi, hardly a standard bearer for the left flank. We might well have endorsed García in different circumstances.
Castillo has not mounted a serious campaign to our minds and we have not heard much from her, despite our entreaties.
Aside from supporting Hershey, whose presence and consistency of views we appreciated, the obvious destination for those who wish to protest Chuy García’s actions is Getty, a loquacious and well-prepared candidate who at our meeting sharply criticized Patty García’s coronation and preached to us about the virtue of independent candidates, although he really is a Democrat who belonged in the primary, had there been a primary.
We appreciate that more Americans are independent, but we worry about Getty’s untested ability to represent the district effectively, since he said he does not intend to caucus with either party. We’d note too that Getty, whose father, Kenneth, also was mayor of Lyons, is not in the best position to rail against favoritism in politics. Notwithstanding the younger Getty’s clear political talents.
Tribune reporting also has suggested that Getty has been involved in sleazy political tactics (hardly unknown in Lyons) including him weaponizing a so-called “kiss video” featuring two other local elected officials caught on camera. He told us in a followup conversation that it was “not my decision to initially request the camera” and that the correct lawful procedure had been followed in the matter. Still. Undignified.
That said, Getty spoke eloquently at our meeting and insisted he would “stand up for working people.” Demonstrably and impressively, he was able to overcome the arduous hurdles the two-party system in Illinois places on independent candidates and secure a place on the ballot. But our worries about this particular candidate’s likely effectiveness in Congress are compounded because he was untested in a primary.
As a result, we are not endorsing in this race.
To reiterate one last time: Chuy García did not do anyone a favor in the Illinois 4th Congressional District — neither his constituents nor his favored successor.
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Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].