Incumbent Republican state Rep. Brandun Schweizer, 44, is a former Marine who was appointed in 2023 to represent this east-central Illinois district, which covers parts of Vermilion and Champaign counties. Schweizer has been a principled, service-oriented state lawmaker. We appreciate his sensible approach to criminal justice. “Whether someone remains in custody should not depend solely on the size of their bank account, but it should depend on the danger they pose to victims, law enforcement and the community,” he told us. While we appreciate his fiscal restraint and opposition to tax hikes, we were disappointed by his opposition to a constitutional amendment on pensions. He did, however, acknowledge the benefit of tradeoffs on this front, saying, “a negotiated solution of shared sacrifice would be good for the state, but difficult in this supercharged political climate.”
His opponent, Mary Catherine Roberson, works as director of constituent services in Danville for U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly; this clearly has given her a window into taking care of folks in the district. We don’t like her apparent opposition to the federal tax-credit program for K-12 scholarships, and we differ on some other issues.
Brandun Schweizer is endorsed.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
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