Rivals for 46th District state House seat compare their motivating issues

As they face each other in a second consecutive general election, two Villa Park residents running for the 46th District state House seat are again comparing their different motivations for seeking the office.

Democratic incumbent Diane Blair-Sherlock and Republican challenger Robert “Rusty” Stevens first ran in 2022 when they sought to succeed Deborah Conroy, who stepped down to run for DuPage County Board chairman.

Blair-Sherlock described herself as a candidate with largely the same ambitions as two years ago, but this time with the experience to better realize them.

“I decided to run the first time to serve my community and, in large part, because of my children,” she said. “I have two children who have disabilities. But because I was able to learn and advocate for them, they’re both very successful adults.”

Blair-Sherlock has served on the House’s appropriations and policy & curriculum committees for elementary and secondary education, which she said has enabled her to get involved in advocacy for special-needs children in the schools. She’s also been partnering with DuPage High School District 88 on a series of seminars for parents of children with disabilities.

Beyond that issue, she serves on the Energy and Environment Committee and is the current de facto chair of the State Government Administration Committee, which she said draws on her background as a contracts attorney. She also considers her role important as the only representative from a fully DuPage County district on a House working group on public transit.

During her term, Blair-Sherlock said she got two bills passed into law. One requires the availability of Narcan in schools to treat opioid overdoses. The other allows families, under certain circumstances, to convert any unused money from college 529 savings plans into Roth IRAs without penalty.

“I’m running again because my work isn’t done,” Blair-Sherlock said. “You know, when you get to the House, you learn that it’s not as simple as School House Rock says to get a bill passed. I’ve learned a lot in the last two years that, I think, will help me in the next two years.”

Stevens described his motivating issue more or less as democracy itself. He said he feels the domination of the state government by one party has cost Illinois and its residents.

“I think that in our representative republic, otherwise known as a democracy, we probably ought to have two candidates,” he said. “We ought to have parity in our government so that there’s some checks and balances and we’re able to call on each other for different ideas and maybe different suggestions.”

Stevens said he’s felt he hasn’t had a choice at the polls on too many occasions and says many others in the district feel the same way.

“One of the things I find that’s really on a lot of people’s mind is the cost of living and common sense as far as approaching the issues that affect the cost of living,” he added. “Like Diane, I’m concerned about mental health and how we address those issues and the methods that we use. Sometimes we tend to throw money at things that we don’t need to, and I think that increases overall costs, and sometimes it’s not as effective as it could be with other methods.”

Stevens said encouraging the legislature to resist automatic tax increases and exercise greater responsibility with other people’s money is what the people of Illinois need right now.

Other issues discussed by the candidates during their joint interview with the Daily Herald included pension funding, the accommodation of migrants, and economic development in the state.

The 46th District includes at least parts of Addison, Bloomingdale, Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Lombard, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Roselle and Villa Park.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241007/illinois-state-politics/rivals-for-46th-district-state-house-seat-compare-their-motivating-issues/