Five seek to represent 26th District in State Legislature 

By Stacie Johnson 

One of the most diverse House districts in the State, the 26th runs from Streeterville and the Gold Coast on the north through the Loop, South Loop, Near South Side, and Bronzeville all the way down to Hyde Park and Woodlawn. So, it is no surprise that a diverse group of five candidates is seeking to represent the area.

            Will Burns, deputy chief of staff and senior advisor to Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr., said the people of the 26th District should have the "best representation possible," and his background and experience in policy make him "the most prepared" candidate to provide that representation.

            Before joining Jones's staff, the University of Chicago graduate worked in numerous capacities ranging from vice president of program and field offices for the Chicago Urban League to tax policy manager for the Metropolitan Planning Council to deputy campaign manager for the Barack Obama for Congress 2000 campaign.

            Burns also has served on several boards of not-for-profit organizations such as the Mikva Challenge, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, Blue Gargoyle Youth Service Center, and South East Chicago Commission.

            In his current role, Burns said he has helped develop legislation for the Senate Democratic Caucus on issues ranging from criminal justice to ethics reform.

            “I know how to really get it done,” Burns said. “I am passionate about the issues and the work. I know what it takes to get votes in the House and in the Senate and get the Governor’s approval.”

            The issues Burns said would get his immediate attention upon election are healthcare, school under-funding, and gun control.

Corporate attorney and law professor Paul Chadha has returned to his home community and said he is ready to represent it in Springfield.

            Chadha was born in Chicago and lived in the 26th district for ten years before relocating with his family to Maywood, IL, where he graduated from Proviso East High School in 1993. Upon graduation he served in the United States Air Force and the Air Force Reserves until 1999, when he graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor's degree in political science. Chadha received his juris doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law in 2002, where he now is an adjunct professor.

            Since his time in the Air Force, Chadha has advocated for issues ranging from ending drunk driving among military personnel to bettering the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia.

            Chadha said upon election he will focus on the issues that prompted him to run: transportation, crime and gun control, and education.

            He said he wants to look at how transit really works in the state and work toward long-term funding. He also wants to look into how to provide equitable education across the district.

            To increase gun control, Chadha wants to tighten the licensing process by requiring a State agency such as the Secretary of State to oversee it more closely. “This way we can prevent another Virginia Tech or Columbine incident," he said. "This is something that can be done immediately.”

            Chadha said attached to his fight for gun control and against crime is promoting education and the economy. “It’s important that we have an educated workforce to compete and have economic value," Chadha said. "This leads to getting people jobs. Without jobs, crimes are committed.” 

            Chadha said his background and his not being beholden to special interests can lead to the change people want in Springfield. “People are looking for people with integrity, and that requires them to be visible and active,” he explained.

Having worked in both the corporate sector and government, Phillip Jackson said being elected State Representative for the 26th District would be “a natural progression or extension” of what he already is doing for people in the district.

            Born and raised in various neighborhoods in Chicago and attending 11 different Chicago Public Schools, Jackson graduated in 1974 with honors from Roosevelt University with a bachelor's of arts in philosophy.

            He went on to wear many occupational hats, ranging from store clerk-turned-senior vice president of Chicago’s oldest bookstore chain, Kroch’s & Brentano’s, to chief of staff for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). 

            While working for CPS, Jackson became versed in the citywide and racial academic achievement gap, which led to the creation of the Black Star Project, an organization that addresses these issues, in 1996.

            Jackson said the number one need in the 26th District is improving education. Some of the state’s worst schools are located in this ethnically and economically diverse district, and “this is totally unacceptable in 2008. Our children in the 26th District have to compete with children all over the world with the education they are getting.” 

            As State Representative he also would address public transportation. “People in the district and in Chicago want clean, safe, reliable transportation," he said. "They feel that transportation is almost a right, and they are not getting it. These doomsday scenarios are disrespectful, and they want a long-term conclusion.”

            Jackson said use of tax dollars needs assessing. “What I will do or want to do first is demand accountability with the money being spent; finding out if we can do more with tax dollars and how they are being spent before paying additional taxes.”

            Jackson said people in the district want change and he is that agent they are looking for.

            After completing the remainder of State Representative Lovana “Lou” Jones’s term upon Jones's death, Elga Jefferies was elected to her first full term as 26th District representative in 2006.

            Jefferies said this first year in Springfield has been a "difficult one" for her, but "rewarding." She has worked on issues ranging from prescription drug coverage for seniors to increasing funding for Chicago area schools.

            More specifically, this former deputy mayor of Bronzeville and lifelong resident of the 26th District said she helped pass legislation that “improved” prescription drug coverage for seniors, renewed property tax breaks, increased assistance for families in need, and increased funding for Chicago area schools.

            If re-elected, Jefferies will continue to work on improving the state’s education system, increasing funding for community job programs, and improving healthcare quality and affordable housing.

            In Springifeld, Jefferies is assigned to the Committee of the Whole and Committees of Appropriations for Public Safety, Managing Sex Offender Issues, Public Utilities, and Judiciary/Criminal Law.

            Little Gym franchise owner and Chicago Defender columnist Kenny Johnson Jr. said he is the change in Springfield that the people of the 26th District of Illinois are demanding.

            “People are starting to tune into politics and saying government should be working for them,” Johnson said, “and when it is not working, that’s when they start looking for their government officials, trying to figure out who can help them.”

            Johnson said education, economic development, healthcare and women’s issues, crime and gun control, transportation, and the housing crisis are the district’s pressing issues. 

            “These issues are huge, and where is our current representative on these issues?” Johnson asked. “It’s time elected officials are held accountable. Our district needs someone, for example, who is going to be tough on criminals and make sensible gun legislation. The people are looking for the right leadership and the right person to stand up against crime.”

            He also said the district needs leadership that can bring businesses into the area, which will provide more jobs for constituents of the 26th District. “This will ensure that the whole district will flourish,” Johnson said.   

            If elected, Johnson said he plans to apply the skills and strategies he has learned while running the Little Gym and his marketing agency, the Richmond Group.

            Johnson holds a bachelor of arts in sociology with a minor in African-American studies from the University of Virginia. He also is a board member of Jobs for Youth, a member of the Rainbow Coalition, and has worked for Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-2nd).