Endorsements

Eric Rinehart for Lake County State’s Attorney

Eric Rinehart is running for State’s Attorney with a commitment to reducing incarceration, promoting rehabilitative justice, and supporting transparency through data-driven approaches. As a dedicated public servant, Rinehart has shown unwavering dedication to ending cash bail and addressing systemic inequities, particularly in marginalized communities. He has become one of the most important and effective advocates in the state in defending the Pretrial Fairness Act. His focus aligns with our vision of long-term public safety and justice, making him a leader in advancing criminal justice reform.

Graciela Guzman for 20th District State Senator

Graciela is a community leader, an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, the daughter of refugees, and the first in her family to go to college. She is dedicated to cogovernance and centering her policy-making around those who will be most directly impacted by those policies. Her goal as 20th District State Senator is to continue to advance progressive electoral wins on the Northwest Side by focusing on economic and environmental justice, access to housing and public transportation, and justice for immigrants, refugees, workers, women, and people with disabilities.

Jackie Williamson for 47th District State Representative

Jackie Williamson decided to run for State Representative against an anti-choice incumbent as a direct response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Her campaign is focused on protecting the environment, strengthening gun safety, restoring and expanding reproductive rights, and making sure that working people can access good jobs and quality health care.

Tara Stamps for 1st District County Commissioner

Democratic leaders chose Chicago Teachers Union worker and community organizer Tara Stamps to fill Brandon Johnson’s seat on the County Board when he was elected Mayor last year. Now, Tara is running for reelection in order to champion the interests of working-class families in the 1st District by prioritizing economic equity, social services, criminal justice reform, housing access, and education.

Mariyana Spyropoulous for Circuit Court Clerk

As President of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District from 2015 – 2019, Mariyana preserved the MWRD’s AAA bond rating and increased transparency by introducing independent oversight and streaming board meetings. As Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, she plans to fight corruption, expose misconduct, and help Cook County residents with a history of involvement with the justice system to start fresh by expanding expungement summits and holding them more regularly. She is running against an incumbent who is allied with the Fraternal Order of Police and endorsed Paul Vallas in the 2023 Chicago Mayoral election.

Grace Patino for 17th District ECPS Council Chair

We endorse Grace Patino for appointment to fill a vacancy for the 17th District Council Chair, a position created by the Empowering Communities for Public Safety Ordinance (ECPS). Patino’s active role in the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) demonstrates her deep involvement in campaigns that promote police accountability, including her work on the ECPS ordinance. Her dedication to ending pretextual stops, addressing police ties to extremist groups, and advocating for transparency in the 17th District reflects The People’s Lobby’s values.

Delia Ramirez for Congressional Representative (CD-3)

Before running for office, Delia served as the founding Executive Director of the Center for Changing Lives, Board Chair for both the Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA) and the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA). 

She is currently State Representative for the 4th State House District. She is the daughter of immigrant parents, and the first Guatemalan-American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly. Delia established a legislative housing committee, successfully passed legislation expanding affordable housing, Medicaid coverage to senior citizens regardless of immigration status, and the creation of an elected school board in the City of Chicago. 

Rob Martwick for State Senator (10)

Rob was raised in Norridge. He has 18 years of experience in local government. His family valued civic and political involvement, and he began helping the Democratic Party through his father, the Democratic Committeeman of Norwood Park Township. In 1993, while still in law school, Rob ran for the post of Trustee to Norwood Park Township. Rob founded the Norwood Park Township Youth Council, which gave young adult students an opportunity to participate in local government. After law school, Rob was an assistant state’s attorney (prosecutor).

Rob has served as State Representative and State Senator. Working with the Chicago Teachers Union, he championed legislation to create an elected school board in Chicago. He also supported and helped ensure the passage of the Pretrial Fairness Act (as part of the SAFE-T Act), which ended cash bail in Illinois.

Robert Peters for Illinois State Senate (IL-13)

Robert Peters is running for election to the Illinois Senate representing the 13th district. Peters was appointed to fill the seat of Kwame Raoul who was elected Illinois Attorney General. He passed 13 bills in his first year in office, including a bill to ban private prisons and immigrant detention centers. Peters served as the Political Director of The People’s Lobby and Reclaim Chicago, training and supporting grassroots candidates to run for state and local office and helping win bail reform, a strategic campaign in the fight against mass incarceration

Karina Villa for State Senator (25)

Karina was born and raised in West Chicago. She has been a lifelong resident of Illinois’ 25th senate district. Karina’s parents were immigrants and small business owners. She earned her master’s degree in social work and prior to becoming a legislator worked in local public schools. She also served as vice president of the West Chicago District 33 Board of Education. In that role she championed a dual language program and full-day kindergarten.

Karina won the 49th IL House of Representatives District, flipping it from Republican to Democrat. The following election, she flipped the 25th IL State Senate District, where she is currently serving. She supported and helped ensure the passage of the Pretrial Fairness Act (as part of the SAFE-T Act), which ended cash bail in Illinois. Other bills Villa has passed include: creating a license specifically for midwives to ensure all those giving birth receive the care they need, requiring public universities and community colleges in Illinois to designate an employee as an Undocumented Student Resource Liaison, and ensuring food assistance dollars received from federal and state aid can be used for diapers and menstrual products.

Rachel Ventura for 43rd District State Senator

State Senator Rachel Ventura was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois in a working-class family. Ventura served on the Will County Board from 2018-2022. As chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee, she focused on providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling homelessness, and expanding mental and behavioral health care. She is committed to tackling the root causes of crime rather than upholding the regressive and punitive policies of the past. Also while on the board, Ventura successfully organized for the county to adopt the Greenest Region Compact – setting forth bold green energy and sustainability goals for Will County. She also served as Vice President of the Forest Preserve District of Will County. In the Illinois Senate since 2023, Ventura has been an advocate for affordable housing, equitable job opportunities, ending mass incarceration, living wages for workers, and reforming oppressive systems that harm our most vulnerable neighbors.

Theresa Mah for State Representative [2]

A daughter of immigrants, Theresa Mah made history in 2016 when she became the first Asian-American elected to the Illinois General Assembly (with The People’s Lobby’s endorsement). In her time in office so far, she has sponsored or co-sponsored bills to protect immigrant tenants, restrict individuals deemed harmful to themselves or others from possessing firearms, get insurers to cover the cost of hearing aids for kids, and more. She has committed to making the wealthy pay their fair share, strengthen schools, and increase access to jobs and health care in her third term.

Lilian Jiménez for State Representative [4]

Lilian Jiménez grew up on the Southeast Side of Chicago and has spent her career working on immigration, worker protection, and COVID response. She previously served as Director of Policy and Chief of Staff for Jesus “Chuy” Garcia during his tenure as Cook County Commissioner. Jiménez also served as Director of the Fair Labor Standards Division at the Illinois Department of Labor. When she is elected, she will serve as a powerful ally on People’s Lobby campaigns from criminal justice reform to living wages for gig workers and beyond.

Sonya Harper for State Representative (6)

Sonya Marie Harper has been a community activist on the South Side since she was 16 years old. An advocate for food access and education, Sonya co-founded the Wood Street Meet & Greet Community Garden and spearheaded the Grow Greater Englewood Coalition, a non-profit organization which advocates for and advances development projects, economic and educational opportunities related to food, urban agriculture and healthy living. She is Chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and played a key role in that body as they were using their collective power to lead the Illinois General Assembly in passing the SAFE-T Act as well as legislation capping interest rates for payday lending.

Hoan Huynh for State Representative (13)

Hoan Huynh is an immigrant from Vietnam who is a strong advocate for progressive policies including ending money bail, Medicare for All, job creation in the green economy, affordable housing, and more. Since moving to Chicago, Hoan has worked with local organizations, community leaders, and local government to address and solve social justice and economic issues affecting Chicago. Hoan has led work with community leaders to reduce gun violence, helped create job opportunities for young people, and supported work to develop trauma-informed policies with Chicago Public Schools to ensure schools understand student trauma and create safer learning environments.

Kelly Cassidy for State Representative (14)

Kelly Cassidy is an experienced legislator who is dedicated to a vision for criminal justice reform that brings real safety to communities. In partnership with groups including Access Living, she crafted the Community Emergency Services and Support Act (CESSA), which allows mental health professionals – not police – to treat folks who are experiencing mental health crises. Kelly’s leadership was instrumental in making sure that our state’s legalization of marijuana in 2020 was implemented in a way that took steps toward healing the harms caused by the drug war and making sure Black people could access some of the wealth generated by this new industry, and she was a champion of the Pretrial Fairness Act in the Illinois House. 

Kevin Olickal for State Representative (16)

The People’s Lobby is proud to endorse Kevin Olickal for State Representative in the 16th District! Kevin is a progressive candidate who shares TPL’s commitment to racial, economic, and environmental justice and is working to ensure that every community has a voice in government. A lifelong Skokie resident and the son of immigrants, he is also committed to protecting women’s healthcare, supporting public education, and making sure everyone has access to housing.

Lindsey LaPointe for State Representative (19)

Lindsey followed her mother into a career in social work after hearing at her mother’s funeral how many lives she touched. As a social worker, Lindsey worked with children with special needs, adults with disabilities, and seniors in need of help. As a policy advocate at Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, Lindsey worked for eight years to find smarter ways to approach crime, saving taxpayers money and making our communities safer. As a neighborhood volunteer, she’s helped residents in need and led community groups.

As a State Representative, Lindsey supported and helped ensure the passage of the Pretrial Fairness Act (as part of the SAFE-T Act), which ended cash bail in Illinois. She also championed legislation that ensures people with disabilities living in groups homes keep all the wages they earn and emergency housing legislation. Throughout the pandemic, she has been an advocate for folks applying for and receiving unemployment benefits, putting pressure on the Illinois Department of Employment Security to make the unemployment benefits system less burdensome.

Will Guzzardi for State Representative (39)

Since taking office in 2014, Will Guzzardi has earned a place as one of the leading progressive voices in Illinois politics by consistently writing and passing progressive legislation. He introduced and passed the $15 minimum wage, has fought for prescription access for everyone, and continues to call out corporate Democrats who give tax breaks to corporations while cutting services to communities. The founder of the Illinois House Progressive Caucus, Will worked with The People’s Lobby for several years on various pieces of legislation to close corporate tax loopholes, reclaiming more than $875 million since his election.

Anne Stava-Murray for State Representative (81)

State Representative Anne Stava-Murray is a strong advocate for fully funded public education, environmental justice, and workers’ rights. As a State Representative, she has consistently opposed school privatization and led efforts to support progressive taxation, alternatives to incarceration, and reproductive rights. Her commitment to a fair and equitable Illinois positions her as a champion for the policies we seek to implement at the state level.