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Full Name:
Gabby Shanahan
What office are you seeking?
State Representative - 97th District
What is your political party?
Republican
What is your current age?
33
Occupation and Employer:
Executive assistant of Illinois Policy Institute
What offices, if any, have you previously held?
Kendall County Board of Health, 708 Mental Health Board and Kendall County Forest Preserve
City:
Campaign Website:
Education:
MBA with a concentration in finance, bachelor’s in political science and bachelor’s in U.S. history from the University of St. Francis.
Community Involvement:
As a mom to young kids, my family is deeply involved in our community through our kids’ school and our church. Our school is entirely volunteer based for lunch, recess and other extracurricular options. You will see me spend several hours every month at school, ensuring there is a safe and friendly face during recess!
My husband, Marty, and I also volunteer through local community-based programs, including New Orleans North, the CAPA Wine Walk, Will County Advocacy Center’s annual Men Who Cook and the IHSA Baseball playoffs.
I currently sit on the Kendall County Board of Health, where I volunteer my time multiple hours a month to help shape the policies and environment of my local health department.
Marital Status/Immediate Family:
Married with three kids.
Why are you running for office?
I am running because local families are desperate for independent leadership that reflects their needs and values.
As a working mom of three kids, I am running to improve their lives. That means lowering the cost of everyday goods like gas and groceries, cutting taxes, ensuring a safe community and making sure every kid can reach their potential through access to an excellent education.
As a political outsider and community leader, I have a fresh, solution-oriented and independent perspective. Voters are rightly hungry for change, and that is what I offer.
I am not interested in politics as usual or partisan games. I’m running to deliver tangible results for local families and fix Illinois for the future.
Will you honor the results of the November election, including the presidential race?
Yes.
How would you assess the SAFE-T Act? Are there any changes/adjustments that you would like to see made?
As a mom of young kids, keeping our communities safe is incredibly personal to me.
Unfortunately, Illinois has become a national example of how soft-on-crime policies, like those in the SAFE-T Act, embolden criminals and undermine public safety. This legislation has weakened our law enforcement’s ability to keep dangerous offenders off the streets and compromised the safety of law-abiding citizens.
I believe every family deserves to live in a community free from the threat of violent crime. The SAFE-T Act was a step in the wrong direction.
I will work for reforms that restore accountability, strengthen our law enforcement, and ensure that our justice system prioritizes the safety of families.
What policies would you support to ease the burden on Illinois taxpayers? Please be specific
Illinois families are being crushed by some of the nation’s highest taxes, especially property taxes, and the burden is only growing. To provide real relief, we need to enact comprehensive spending reform to ensure taxpayer dollars are used efficiently and effectively.
This starts with reducing wasteful spending. We should prioritize essential services that directly benefit our communities, such as public safety, education and infrastructure.
A key driver of high taxes is Illinois’ unsustainable pension system. Pension reform is critical to long-term financial stability. We need to explore options such as transitioning new hires to defined contribution plans.
Additionally, removing unnecessary mandates gives local governments more control over their budgets and allows them to rein in costs.
The Chicago area has been a destination for migrants, often with no housing options when they get here. What would you do in Springfield to help migrants when they appear, and to help local communities prepare when groups show up unannounced?
As a working mom of three, I understand the strain working families are under from high inflation and property taxes.
That is why we must not divert resources away from Illinois residents who are struggling. This means prioritizing housing, healthcare and education for our citizens while seeking federal assistance to provide necessary support for migrants.
My opponent has taken the opposite approach—voting to provide taxpayer-funded healthcare for noncitizens, while cutting funding for critical programs that serve seniors and failing to eliminate the grocery tax that hits working families the hardest.
We need leaders who will advocate for adequate federal resources and focus on the root causes of the crisis, including securing our borders. That is the sustainable and compassionate way to reduce the strain on local communities and help those who wish to enter the country legally.
What programs are you in favor of that could make home-buying more affordable for first-time homebuyers?
Owning a home in a safe and healthy community is a cornerstone of the American Dream, but it’s becoming increasingly out of reach for many families.
The solution is twofold. First, we need to address the lack of affordable housing by removing barriers to building more homes. This means cutting red tape and eliminating unnecessary mandates on businesses, home builders, and developers. Increasing the supply of homes will help bring down costs and make homeownership more attainable for young families.
Second, Illinois’ property taxes—the second highest in the nation—are an unsustainable burden. High property taxes turn the dream of homeownership into a nightmare. That’s why I support legislation like House Bill 4866, which could cut property taxes by up to 50 percent. I have consistently advocated for reducing government spending and regulations that drive taxes higher so we can make homeownership more affordable for everyone.
The last census showed that Illinois is losing population, and that rural areas are were hit harder than urban areas. Is that a cause for concern and, if so, what can you do from Springfield to ensure rural communities don’t disappear?
Families are fleeing Illinois in search of a better quality of life at a lower cost with more opportunities for growth.
Whether it’s high taxes, rising costs of essentials like groceries and gas, or Illinois’ notorious culture of corruption and mismanagement, we need to make Illinois more affordable and attractive for families to stay.
The problem is worsened by businesses leaving, taking good jobs and opportunities with them. If we want Illinois to be a beacon of hope and opportunity, we must lower taxes and encourage work and investment, both for individual families and for the job creators that employ them.
Should Illinois impose a state parks fee that is earmarked for maintenance of those facilities? If so, how should it be implemented?
As a runner and a mom of two young kids, I love our local parks. They are important to our communities, offering recreational opportunities and preserving our natural beauty.
Illinois has a $50 billion budget, and our families are burdened by some of the highest taxes in the nation. Raising taxes further, even in the form of park fees, would add to this burden. High taxes are already driving families and businesses out of Illinois—and if that continues, there won’t be anyone left to enjoy our parks.
I don’t believe Illinois has a revenue problem; it has a spending problem. Instead of imposing more fees, we need to focus on better prioritizing our budget to fund programs that directly benefit our communities, including the maintenance of our state parks.
By cutting waste and reallocating resources, we can ensure our parks are properly maintained without adding more financial strain on hardworking families.
With hospitals closing and/or downsizing in northern Illinois, what can be done to ensure rural residents have access to quality health care?
The closure and downsizing of hospitals in northern Illinois is a critical issue, especially for rural communities where access to healthcare is already limited. Every resident, regardless of where they live, deserves access to quality care.
To address this, we need to explore solutions that go beyond the traditional hospital model. One option is expanding telemedicine services, which can connect rural residents with specialists and primary care providers without the need for long travel times.
Do you support Karina’s Bill, which aims to strengthen enforcement of the removal of firearms from those with orders of protection against them? More broadly, are Illinois laws too strict – or not strict enough – when it comes to gun rights and gun control and what changes would you advocate for?
As a mom of a daughter, I’m deeply committed to keeping firearms out of the hands of abusers and protecting families. Having personally experienced the devastating effects of mental illness, I believe we must prioritize laws that enhance safety and address mental health concerns without unfairly penalizing responsible gun owners. Common-sense reforms are essential to ensuring both safety and fairness.
I support the intent of Karina’s Bill, and I will carefully review the final language to ensure it protects families and addresses root causes without infringing on the rights of law-abiding citizens.
Should Metra, Pace and the CTA be combined into one agency? What should be done to address the fiscal cliff facing the public transit agencies?
As a commuter myself, I recognize that Metra is critical to ensuring that families in districts like mine have access to the economic opportunities available in Chicago.
However, public transportation needs to be reformed and rethought to ensure it truly serves our families—and does so at an affordable cost. One of the major challenges facing Metra, Pace, and the CTA is the burden of legacy costs, including pensions, which are becoming unsustainable in their current form.
We need to explore solutions like streamlining operations, reducing administrative overhead, and improving coordination between services. However, a truly sustainable transit program must also address the structural financial challenges these agencies face, including the pension crisis, and ensure they have the resources needed to modernize and serve our communities efficiently.
Ultimately, the goal should be a transit system that is both financially sustainable and capable of providing reliable, affordable transportation for Illinois residents.
In your capacity as a private citizen, have you or any business entity in which you have a ownership stake received a federal PPP loan? If so, what was the amount and is it repaid, forgiven or still outstanding?
No.
Have you ever been convicted of or charged with a crime?
No.