Editor’s note: This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the Nov. 3 general election.
The race for the Illinois Senate seat in the 42nd District is between Democrat Jared Ploger and Republican Edgardo Perez.
The winner will take the seat in the General Assembly in Springfield held for 20 years by Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, who is retiring at the end of her current term.
Ploger, 51, of Aurora, said issues voters are concerned about include taxes and affordability.
In respect to taxes, Ploger said that “people are concerned about property taxes and how high they are.”
“People I’ve had conversations with at the door center around how high property taxes are in the 42nd District and want them lower,” he said.
Ploger also said constituents “frankly do not understand and are extremely frustrated with the policies currently in place with the current government.”
“It’s kind of an understatement. They believe the government is definitely playing a role in the affordability piece with tariffs and all that stuff,” he said.
In regards to just affordability itself, “people are talking about housing, water, utilities and also connecting that to data centers, for sure,” he said. “There’s also the environmental issue with the data centers as well.”
If elected, Ploger said he would like to focus on infrastructure, living wages and fully funding education.
“With infrastructure – we’re the fastest growing area in Illinois, the part where we are at, and our infrastructure is stressed,” he said. “We need investment out here in roads, transportation, hospitals, all of those are pieces that we need and industry as well.”
In regards to wages, “we need to make sure we are not looking at affordability from just our bills’ standpoint. We need to make sure that wages are keeping up with affordability as well,” he said.
Funding education, he said, includes recognizing that “where the 42nd District is, we have some of the highest performing large unit districts in the state of Illinois and it is a key component of our property values.”
More Top Picks Best Rechargeable Flashlights For Home
“We need to make sure we maintain those,” Ploger said. “In terms of funding we need to look at the millionaires’ tax and other revenues that are not necessarily putting burdens on middle and lower classes.”
Perez, 62, of Aurora, said voters are talking about taxes, data centers and not knowing enough about their representatives.
“In respect to taxes, everywhere I go people are complaining about how their taxes have gone up and what are they going to do about it,” he said. “People are saying they don’t have enough say so in what happens. They want more transparency and want to know where is my taxpayer money going? Is it going for my local schools or development in the community? I don’t see things improving.”
Data centers are a concern, he said, as people question “how they are going to come into the community and ruin our town.”
“People are talking about the environmental impact and they are worried that a major data center, not only is it going to use so much water but also take up much more room,” he said. “I’m also seeing people saying there is a need for them because you’re not going to slow down technology but what happens to the money that comes into the community?”
In regards to representatives, Perez said people are voicing concerns “about how nobody knows who their state senators are.”
If elected, Perez said he wants to focus on transparency, helping veterans and providing opportunities for youth.
“With transparency – that’s number one. I want people to have more of a say so,” he said. “If taxes or anything else is going to increase, let the people decide. Go to a referendum. Let people decide, does it help my community? The majority of the time it may improve things but you’re going to have to give them a reason – a good reason – why this is where my money is going.”
Veterans need help, he said.
“I’m a big proponent of assisting veterans in our area and I want to at least work on a committee that asks, ‘How can we best benefit our veterans?,” he said. “I know they are receiving benefits from the federal government, but how can individual communities help the veterans here?”
Perez said that “youth have always been a big issue for me.”
“We also have a lot of families out here who have kids that have special needs and those kids are a very important part for me,” he said. “I want to find ways to help families with special needs, not just the kids but when they go into adulthood.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.