The Senate seat for this northwest suburban district is open after Democrat Mark Walker opted not to run for reelection. He has endorsed Arlington Heights Village Trustee Carina Santa Maria, 41, to succeed him; she ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Facing her is Republican David Mathis, a military retiree who served in the Marines and the National Guard and also lives in Arlington Heights.
On some issues, Santa Maria is well to our left. She calls for “fixing” Tier 2 Illinois pensions, by which she means enhancing their benefits. She claims they are causing recruitment and retention problems for police, fire and teaching jobs. We don’t see evidence of that; the last thing Illinois should do is to dig a deeper pension hole.
That said, we appreciate her approach to the SAFE-T Act. She calls for more transparency for the public on defendants who violate their home-confinement restricts while on electronic monitoring. And she says judges need more tools to respond to such violations. “We can protect due process while also being clear that when evidence demonstrates someone poses a serious threat to another person or the community, our laws need to give judges effective tools to protect the public,” she tells us.
Mathis describes himself as a moderate. His call for more restrictions on abortion, though, likely won’t sit well in a suburban district. Those tired of Democratic dominance in Springfield might want to consider this outsider but we think Santa Maria is more likely to represent the best interests of this district. We endorse Carina Santa Maria.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
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