Republican Joseph Tracy, 60, a retired Illinois Department of Human Services employee, is challenging Democratic state Rep. Mary Beth Canty, 45, in a race that offers voters a clear choice on taxes and government spending.
Tracy argues that Illinois families cannot afford the state’s rising spending and tax burdens. He opposes a millionaires tax and offers ideas for controlling public pension costs, including limiting the amount of salary used to calculate pension benefits. He also supports tighter enforcement of electronic monitoring.
Canty offers thoughtful proposals to improve legislative ethics oversight and electronic monitoring, and we appreciate her attention to suburban transportation needs. But her fiscal priorities concern us. She supports a millionaires tax, faster increases in state education spending and opposes a constitutional amendment to reduce the cost of public-sector pensions.
Illinois needs lawmakers willing to give greater consideration to spending restraint and structural reform.
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Joseph Tracy is endorsed.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
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