State Sen. Emil Jones III has represented this district in Cook County’s south suburbs since 2010 when he succeeded his father, Emil Jones Jr., Senate president from 2003 to 2009 and famously Barack Obama’s mentor when Obama was a state senator.
The younger Jones entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago late last year after his 2025 trial on bribery and wire fraud charges ended in a hung jury. If he complies with the terms of the agreement, which included an admission that he lied to the FBI, the charges will be dismissed.
Perhaps it’s not surprising then that Jones, 48, was challenged in the Democratic primary for the first time since he took office. He defeated the two candidates, including Ahmed Karrar, whom we endorsed, winning about 60% of the vote.
He’s also getting his first general election challenge since winning the office. Republican Brian Skala, a Crestwood village trustee, is running.
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Skala, 53, a union plumber and Crestwood native, says Jones essentially has been an absentee senator. Skala is striking a moderate tone in his bid for the office and pledging to work with Democrats but believes, as we do, that taxes are too high in Illinois. He also tells us he would support a constitutional amendment that would allow for pension reform.
We’re glad voters in this heavily Democratic district will have a choice, even if Skala faces an uphill battle given his opponent’s familial advantages. But that is not what should matter here.
Skala is a very reasonable alternative for independents and moderate Democrats who want more curbs on Democratic excesses in Springfield and a change from their scandal-tarred incumbent.
Brian Skala is endorsed.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
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