“We have carefully vetted the candidates for Illinois House and Illinois Senate, and we are confident that each will make excellent proponents of retired teachers” said John Braglia, Chair of the IRTAPAC. “The lack of an endorsement should not necessarily be viewed as a negative reflection of a particular candidate’s views on retired teachers’ issues in general.”
The deliberation process was based on several factors, including answers to a short questionnaire, voting history, demonstrated support for retirees, support for the rights of retirees under the constitution, member recommendation and staff recommendation. Only candidates who returned a completed questionnaire were evaluated. The recipients who received endorsement were nominated by the members of the IRTA Political Action Committee and then approved for endorsement by the IRTAPAC Board of Directors.
“Via the questionnaire and in-person discussions we assessed candidates on issues such as the constitution, the current tax code, health insurance, and funding,” IRTAPAC Board Chair Roger Hampton said. “We endorsed candidates who tell us that promises made are promises kept and that they will vote to fully-fund those commitments. No other factors besides the issues relating to retired educators were considered when making these endorsements.”
There are many capable candidates interested in representing Illinois citizens on the ballot this year. The IRTAPAC Committee is grateful to all candidates who returned a questionnaire. “We owe a huge thank you to our members and the IRTAPAC committee for staying vigilant and reaching out to their elected officials and candidates, urging them to return their questionnaires,” Braglia added.
The following selected candidates from the House of Representatives are listed in order by districts:
Shantel Franklin (D-8) | Paul Kendrick (D-12 | Demerike “Demi” Palacek (D-13) | Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-14) | Rep. Mike Kelly (D-15) | Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-18) | Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-19) | Rep. Kam Buckner (D-26) | Rick Ryan (D-36 | Rep. Patrick Sheehan (R-37) | Rep. Janet Yang-Rohr (D-41) | Rep. Margaret DeLarosa (D-42) | Rep. Anna Moeller (D-43) | Rep. Martha “Marti” Deuter (D-45) | Diane Blair-Sherlock (D-46) | Erica Bray-Parker (D-47) | Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro (R-48) | Maria Peterson (D 52) | Rep. Nicole Grasse (D-53) | Mary Beth Canty (D-54) | Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-56) | Rep. Bob Morgan (D-58) | Rep. Daniel Didech (D-59) | Rep. Joyce Mason (D-61) | Rep. Tom Weber (R-64) | Rep. Maurice West (D-67) | Rep. Dave Vella (D-68) | Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-70) | Rep. Daniel Swanson (R-71) | Gregg Johnson (D-72) | Rep. Ryan Spain (R-73) | Rep. Jed Davis (R-75) | Rep. Norma Hernandez (D 77) | Rep. Jackie Haas (R-79) | Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-80) | Rep. Nicole LaHa (R-82) | Rep. Dagmara Avelar (D-85) | Regan Deering (R-88) | Rep. Tony McCombie (R-89) | Rep. Travis Weaver (R 93) | Rep. Mike Coffey (R-95) | Rep. Sue Scherer (D-96) | Rep. Jessica Dixon Heitman (D-97) | Kyle Moore (R-99) | Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-100) | Rep. Brandun Schweizer (R-104) | Tim Ruestman (R 105) | Wayne Rosenthal (R-108) | Rep. Charles Meier (R-109) | Rep. Amy Elk (R-111) | Rep. Katie Stuart (D-112) | Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-113) | Rep. Kevin Schmidt (R-114) | Rep. Dave Severin (R-116) | Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-117) | Rep. Scott Doody (R-118)
The following candidates from the Senate include:
Senator Omar Aquino (D-2) | Senator Lakesia Collins (D-5) | Senator Sara Feingenholtz (D-6) | Patrick Hanley (D-9) | Senator Mike Porfirio (D-11) | Senator Elgie Sims (D-17) | Senator Fran Hurley (D-18) | Senator Suzy Glowiak-Hilton (D-23) | Ben McAdams (D-24) | Rep. Nabeela Sayed (D-26) | Carina Santa Maria (D-27) | Senator Julie Morrison (D-29) | Adriane Johnson (D-30) | Michele Clark (D-33) | Senator Michael Halpin (D-36) | Jared Ploger (D-42) | Senator Sally Turner (R-44) | Joe Berning (D-45) | Senator Doris Turner (D-48) | Senator Jil Tracy (R-50) | Senator Chapin Rose (R-51) | Senator Chris Balkema (R-53) | Senator Erica Harriss (R-56)
The Illinois Retired Teachers Association is a nonpartisan, grassroots political organization. The Association advocates for the interests of Illinois retired public-school educators. The Association’s members are retired educators, active educators who are near retirement and those supportive of retired educators. They work to serve the interests of retired educators through advocacy, education, cooperation, and socialization. Join the Illinois Retired Teachers Association today at www.irtaonline.org.
Please vote on or before November 3, 2026. 
