2016 Illinois Republican legislative candidates

Dawn Abernathy

Dawn Abernathy is a 2016 Republican political candidate for the District 59 seat in the Illinois House of Representatives. She is running against incumbent State Representative Carol Sente.

Education and Career

Abernathy received her Bachelor of Science in Politics and Public Affairs, Public Relations, and Marketing from the University of Miami in 1988, and her Master in Education from National-Louis University in 2009. She worked as a development director for Santa maria del Popolo Church from 2003-2007.

Public service

Abernathy became a Mundelein Trustee in 2013. During her term, she advocated for independent living facilities and the redevelopment of downtown Mundelein. She is affiliated with several local charities and organizations including Santa Maria del Popolo Church, CASA, Mundelein Mainstreet, Mundelein-Vernon Hills Rotary Club, and Carmel High School.

Personal

Dawn Abernathy has lived most of her life in Lake County. She was raised in Libertyville and attended Carmel High School in Mundelein, where she met her future husband, Mark Abernathy. Her father worked for Abbott Laboratories, and her mother stayed home to raise the family.

In 1994, Dawn and Mark married. Mark Abernathy is a small business owner of Abernathy’s Department Store in Mundelein, a business that has been in the family for 57 years.

The couple have two daughters. They are also foster parents; over the course of their foster parenting experience, they have taken care of a total of five foster children.

2016 election

The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, in which both candidates ran unopposed. The general election will be held on November 8, 2016.

Abernathy has named mental health and substance abuse issues a top priority in her agenda if elected.

She said she believes that Illinois has suffered under Democratic control, especially on the issue of government spending. In response to the passage of the stop-gap budget in July 2016, Abernathy said, “The stop-gap budget did nothing but hurt the financial crisis we are facing in Illinois. We have to cut spending.” She criticized Carol Sente (her opponent) for not taking action to reduce taxes on Illinois businesses.

Abernathy has also spoken out about the state’s pension debt, which has increased due to the state’s poor credit rating and slow investment gains. She believes the first step to address the issue is to move all new state employees to a 401(k)-style retirement plan. Abernathy told the Lake County Gazette that she will personally opt out of the state pension plan as part of her commitment to pension reform.

Because of Illinois’ relatively high unemployment rate, Abernathy has said that she supports economic reform, job growth, and state assistance for families in need.

Jillian Bernas

Jillian Bernas (Jillian Rose Bernas) is a Republican candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives 56th District in the 2016 election. Bernas is running against the incumbent State Representative Michelle Mussman.

Education and career

She studied education at Saint Mary’s College and the University of Notre Dame and worked as a teacher. For three years, Bernas worked and taught at the U.S. Embassy in Chile.

Public service

Her prior public service is at the local level. In 2015, Bernas ran for and won a seat as a trustee for the Schaumburg Township District Library Board at the age of 32. She is also an associate member of the Schaumburg Township Mental Health Committee.

Personal

Bernas lives in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Issues

Halbrook is both socially and fiscally conservative. He supports lowering taxes and increasing the number of Illinois jobs. According to his campaign website, “In 2012, he became just the 9th State Legislator to turn down the underfunded and overly generous General Assembly Retirement System pension.” He was among a group of legislators that started a trend; as of October 2016, 33 legislators turn down the pension.

During his campaign, Holbrook advocated for lower taxes. in the past, he spoke out against local and state tax increases. He supports property tax caps and opposes income tax increases.

Because of the number of people and jobs thet have left Illinois, Holbrook says that he is committed to reforming worker’s compensation laws by eliminating unnecessary regulations.

Holbrook opposes abortion, same-sex marriage, and gun control.

During his time as a state legislator, he voted in favor of bills to provide transparency for local governments. He supports redistricting reform and imposing term limits on state legislators.

Halbrook was the fifth legislator to not accept the General Assembly pension benefit for himself. He has said that he work to reform the state pension system.

2016 Election

The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, in which Halbrook defeated both James Acklin and Randy Peterson. Incumbent Adam M. Brown (R) did not seek re-election. Halbrook will run unopposed in the general election, which will be held November 8, 2016.

Republican Governor Bruce Rauner officially endorses Halbrook and, in addition to several independent groups, spent money in support of his campaign. He is also officially endorsed by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce PAC.

Personal

Brad Halbrook owns and operates a small farm with his wife Linda in Shelbyville, where they reside with their two children.

Heidi Holan

Heidi Holan is an Illinois Republican state legislative candidate. Holan ran in 2014 and is running again in 2016 for the Illinois House of Representatives District 46 seat.

Elections

In 2014, Holan ran unopposed in the Republican primary on March 18, 2014 for the Illinois House District 46 seat. She lost in the general election to the incumbent, Deb Conroy (D). Conroy won 52.2% of the vote (12,774 votes) while Holan received 47.5% of the vote (11,542 votes).

Holan again ran unopposed for the Republican nomination in the primary on March 15, 2016. She is running against Deb Conroy again for the District 46 seat. The general election will be held on November 8, 2016.

Campaign

Holan said she is running to challenge the status quo. She said political insiders are protecting their own interests. She is concerned about the state of Illinois’ unfunded pension liability and the state having the lowest credit rating of all states in the U.S.

Issues

She is opposed.

She is opposed.

She is pro-life. She was given a 100% rating by the Illinois Citizens for Life in both 2014 and 2016. She was also endorsed by the Illinois Federation for Right to Life.

She wants to:

Her plan is to:

Madigan criticism

In early June 2016, the regular session of the Illinois House ended. At that time, the legislature and governor had not come to an agreement on the state budget. House Speaker Michael Madigan submitted an appropriation bill that was 500 pages and included a $7 billion shortfall anticipated state revenue.

In response to the appropriation bill, Holan said:

"Madigan’s $7 billion-dollars-short ‘folly’ of a budget appears to have been a feeble dodge rather than a genuine attempt to fix Illinois’ financial problems. The people I talk to don’t care about political games. Mike Madigan is on a spending spree and he’s been feeding his addiction with your money. My opponent, Deb Conroy (D- Villa Park), is one of his enablers."

District

The district in which she is running for office is located in DuPage County, Illinois. In the district, 28,000 women are unemployed. Of those 28,000 women, 12,000 have a college degree or higher. Holan said, “In Villa Park, there are over 1,000 woman living in poverty and twice that many in Glendale Heights.”

Personal life

Holan lives in Glen Ellyn, Illinois where she homeschooled her two children. She is a member of Wheaton Bible Church and serves as the Illinois state coordinator for parentalrights.org.

She attended Elmhurst College and received a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Dan McConchie

Dan McConchie is a Republican member of the Illinois Senate. He represents the 26th Senate District which includes Algonquin, Barrington, Cary, Deer Park, Fox River Grove, Hawthorn Woods, Island Lake, Kildeer, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Long Grove, Mundelein, and Wauconda.

Brandi McGuire

Brandi McGuire is a Republican candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives for the 72nd District. She lives in Milan, Illinois.

Issues

McGuire’s daughter, Kelsey, suffers from epilepsy. Kelsey uses a service dog named Jasper. Kelsey’s school initially did not allow her to bring Jasper to classes with her. Brandi McGuire filed a dispute over this rule and it eventually ended up in court. McGuire fought the case for 15 months. As a result, the school board settled the case for $95,000.

McGuire is the founder of a charity that helps people with epilepsy, called Ribbons for Kelsey.

In McGuire’s answers to the Chicago Tribune’s candidate questionnaire, McGuire attacked her opponent, Pat Verschoore, over the 2011 tax increase. “Within the 72nd District, State Representative Pat Verschoore, a co-sponsor of the 2011 tax hike, said it was supposed to pay off the state’s deficit. Even with $31 billion in additional revenue in two years, the tax increase did not even put a dent in the state’s backlog of bills,” McGuire said.

She also listed specific examples of egregious spending projects by specific members of the Illinois legislature including the powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan. In Madigan’s case she attacked his earmark of $35 million to one school in his district.

On the issue of education, McGuire supports charter schools and tuition vouchers. She told the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board that her top priority for education would be to focus on people with disabilities and improve the services and practices for those students.

In September 2016, McGuire was endorsed by the NRA. She received an “AQ” rating from the NRA due to her responses on their questionnaire.

According to Rock Island Today, “NRA-PVF’s grading system follows an alphabetical key, with “A+” denoting a legislator demonstrating both an excellent voting record on all critical NRA issues and robust past efforts to promote and defend the Second Amendment. An “A” is assigned to solidly pro-gun candidates who have supported NRA positions on key votes in elective office as well as candidates with a record of Second Amendment issue support.”

In July 2016, she signed a document put together by Gov. Bruce Rauner called the Illinois Term Limit Pledge. The pledge states that politicians should serve no more than 10 years in the State House of Representatives, and the Governor’s term should be limited to eight years. She was one of the first people to sign it.

Professional and education

McGuire attended the Black Hawk College. She is the director and a certified driving instructor at the Skiles driving school.

Her past political experience includes serving as a precinct committeewoman.

Lindsay Parkhurst

Lindsay Parkhurst is a Republican candidate running for the Illinois State Representative seat in the 79th District against incumbent State Representative Kate Cloonen (D).

According to the Daily Journal, “Local Republicans recruited Parkhurst for her strong record of advocacy in the courts and her disconnection to politics.”

This is her first run at political office.

Career and personal life

Parkhurst went to law school in Chicago. For about 10 years, she worked at a major law firm in downtown Chicago.

She has been practicing law since 1989 and now runs her own practice. In Kankakee, she has been a public defender for juvenile cases involving children. In 2015, she received the Prairie Street Legal Services Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award. The award is given to attorneys who represent a number of clients who can’t afford lawyers.

Parkhurst is married to Marc Parkhurst, a gourmet chef. The couple have a 12-year-old daughter named Lucy. Parkhurst and her family live in the Shore Acres subdivision between Kankakee and Aroma Park.

2016 primary

Parkhurst ran unopposed in the primary.

Issues

She supports fully funding schools.

Parkhurst is running in favor of term limits, despite the recent actions by the Supreme Court of Illinois, who did not allow a term limit ballot initiative to go on the November 2016 ballot. She said, “Professional, career politicians have no place serving in our state legislature, a body that should truly be a citizen legislature… Public servants are supposed to be citizens who represent their communities for a short period of time, then return home to continue their normal lives.”

She supports a balanced budget.

Parkhurst opposes privately funded projects that can threaten family farms in Illinois. For example, there is a proposed project called the Great Lakes Basin Railroad Project that would extend 278 miles around the Chicago area. It is a privately funded project. However, it would affect farms, local towns, and cities and roads.

Allen Skillicorn

Allen Skillicorn is a former member of the Illinois House of Representatives who is running again in 2016 for a legislative seat.

Skillicorn is the 2016 Republican candidate for the District 66 seat in the Illinois House of Representatives. He defeated both Dan Wilbrandt and Carolyn Schofield in the primary election, which was held March 15, 2016. Incumbent Michael W. Tryon (R) did not seek re-election.

Skillicorn supported past incumbent Tryon in each of Tryon's races. However, Tryon chose not to seek reelection in 2016.

The 66th State House District includes parts of Algonquin, Crystal Lake, East and West Dundee, Elgin, Gilberts, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Lakewood and Sleepy Hollow.

Tryon served as chairman of the McHenry County Board from 1998 until 2005. Although Skillicorn respects Tryon's former leadership and the legacy he leaves behind, he said that "a House member with energy is needed to thwart Speaker Michael Madigan's grip on the state house."

Education and career

Skillicorn is a graduate of Dundee Crown High School, and he received an Associates degree from Elgin Community College. Professionally, he has worked as a Director of Marketing for a local electronics manufacturer.

Public service

Allen Skillicorn is a Trustee for the Village of East Dundee and has been involved with various organizations including the following: Vice-Chairman of the Kane County Republican Party, Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Illinois, Liberty Leader for the Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois Rifle Association, former board member of the Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce, Sports Car Club of America, and a volunteer for Therapy Dogs, Inc.

Personal

Allen Skillicorn (41 years old) was raised in Algonquin and currently resides with his wife, Heather, and their 5-year-old Doberman, McFly, in East Dundee. He and his wife attend Fox Valley Church on a regular basis.

2016 election

Skillicorn is running against Nancy Zettler, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. The general election will be held November 8, 2016.

Issues

Property taxes According to Skillicorn, “Property taxes are crushing homeowners and businesses across Illinois.” Skillicorn believes he has shown accountability and leadership as an East Dundee Trustee, mainly exhibited in his fight against property hikes. In 2011, his first year in office, Skillicorn and other trustees froze the tax levy. In an interview with ABC 7 Eyewitness News, Skillicorn stated, “Here in East Dundee since I was elected four years ago, we’ve worked together to freeze the property tax levy and keep it that way.”

According to Skillicorn, the approach to fixing the public pension systems “is transitioning from a defined benefit system to a defined contribution pension system for new employees.” While still keeping earnings to date in high regard, current employees and retirees should be able to reform these benefits.

In order to effectively create a working budget, Skillicorn says, “We need to restore the two-party system in the Illinois legislature.” He scrutinizes Chicago Democrat Speaker Madigan for profiting on property taxes and holding the state budget hostage. Skillcorn proclaims, “The only path to restoring true economic opportunity in Illinois requires peeling back the claws of control from Speaker Madigan.” He also approves cutting Medicaid benefits and supports ongoing investigation, which discovered $12 million in benefits going to dead people and that 40% of Medicaid recipients are ineligible, living out-of-state or for other reasons. He estimates that with necessary cuts, there could be a savings of $1.5 to $1.9 billion per year.

Skillicorn opposes the graduated income tax and approves restoring a 5% increase in income tax.

Skillicorn is in favor of changing the Chicago school board from an appointed board to an elected board, due to corruption, scandal, and negligence. He believes, “Chicago Public Schools are failing the students, parents, and taxpayers of Illinois.” At the same time, he is against bailing out Chicago Public Schools under any circumstance, which may may result in high costs for “state taxpayers that does nothing to improve or correct this truly dysfunctional institution.”

In addition to the main objectives on the election forum, Skillicorn also considers some other issues vital to his candidacy. He is a supporter of worker compensation reform, which he feels is essential to the state economy, businesses, and jobs. He also approves of imposing an eight-year term limit on service to the Illinois House, due to the accumulation of power and corruption displayed in the past. Finally, he wishes to place focus on red light cameras, which he says “is a state sanctioned scam.”

Mel Thillens

Mel Thillens is a Republican candidate running against incumbent Illinois State Senator Laura Murphy (D) for the 28th District seat.

Education and experience

Thillens graduated from Columbia College in 1995. He served as a Park Ridge Park District Commissioner. He is the owner of Thillens, Inc.

Elections

He ran unopposed in the Republican primary in 2016. On April 3, 2015 he was endorsed by the Illinois National Federation of Independent Business.

In 2014, Thillens ran against incumbent Martin J. Moylan for the Illinois House of Representatives District 55. Moylan won the race 52.7% to 47.3%.

Issues

Thillens supports the Independent Maps Amendment. The ballot initiative gathered 600,000 signatures and was approved by the State Elections Board. Opposing the initiative was lawyer Mike Casper who is the general counsel for the Illinois Democratic Party. A Cook County court ruled against the initiative, and the Illinois Supreme Court upheld that ruling. The initiative would have changed the way that legislative districts are created, by placing the ability to redraw maps into the authority of an independent commission, instead of the state legislature. Because of the Supreme Court ruling, the initiative will no longer be on the November 2016 ballot.

Thillens supports the state of Illinois passing a budget and opposes the repeated stalling of passing a budget. Thillens said, “The Illinois political machine is so dysfunctional right now that the state’s credit rating, already the worst in the nation, just got downgraded. It is appalling to me that the legislature can end the session without a budget. And now it is going to cost us a fortune in higher investment payments.”

According to a report published by the Illinois Policy Institute, due to changes in the state’s investment strategy and changes in demographics, the State Employees’ Retirement System’s debt will require an extra $320 million each year for taxpayers by 2018. As such, Thillens supports reforming the state pension system. He proposes a 401(k) style plan moving forward.