Election 2024: Suzanne Ness, Laurie Parman face off in Illinois’ 66th House District race

Retired Algonquin-based School District 300 teacher Laurie Parman of Sleepy Hallow is a Republican trying to unseat incumbent Democrat State Rep. Suzanne Ness of Crystal Lake in the 66th Illinois House district.

District 66 covers parts of McHenry and Kane counties including Crystal Lake, Lakewood, Algonquin, Carpentersville, Sleepy Hallow, East Dundee, West Dundee and Elgin.

Ness, 55, was first elected in 2020 and she most recently defeated Connie Cain in 2022 by just over 2,300 votes, or 53% of the vote. Ness is running again in hopes to finish things she started, like expanding resources for people with intellectual disabilities, she said.

“Anything that is complex or transformative, it takes time,” Ness said.

She sees her position as a way to connect agencies in a bipartisan way. She notes how she has connected mental health and addiction services to “close that gap” of services in Kane County.

“I want to bridge that divide and start moving towards some form of normal again in our country,” she said.

Other legislation Ness has passed includes House Bill 2433, which increases accountability and pushes for quicker response times to nursing home complaints, and House Bill 2748, which allows an additional year of in-person learning for students with developmental disabilities, who have “aged-out” of their schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ness said her favorite accomplishment during her current term was securing state funding that helped eliminate a planned toll on the new Longmeadow Parkway bridge. The bridge crosses over the Fox River in northern Kane County, easing congestion on nearby bridges on Route 62 in Algonquin, Route 72 in East and West Dundee and Main Street in Carpentersville.

Newcomer Parman, 69, hopes her decades-long experience as a teacher can have an impact on the schools in her district if she’s sent to Springfield. Parman retired from teaching at the end of 2021 after falling ill with COVID-19 that led to a hospital stay. She taught family and consumer science, literacy in American history and cooking and sewing in District 300 schools.

Parman has not previously held office and unsuccessfully ran for District 300 Board of Education last year. After that loss, Parman started getting calls from Kane and McHenry county citizens to run for house district because they were looking for a “public servant,” she said.

“Education I know a lot about, but politics, I don’t know that much,” Parman said. “Public service, that’s something I can do.”

Parman was inspired to hold a public seat after seeing children struggle with school during the pandemic. She said the lockdowns were “very eye-opening” as she began to see literacy rates drop, residents move to other states and teachers losing “autonomy.”

“Schools are ramping up right now, they’re starting one by one, to do referendums,” she said. “I don’t how that’s going to go for the schools, but I’m guessing not very well because people are dissatisfied with the product.”

Self described as “pro-business,” Parman aims to make Illinois more affordable by supporting businesses and creating a “no-tax policy on social security,” she said in a Northwest Herald questionnaire. Ness aims to ease taxpayer burdens by creating a more efficient government and creating “caps on spending to correlate with income and revenue,” she said in a Northwest Herald questionnaire.

Ness and Parman have very different views on hot button topics like the SAFE-T Act and immigration. Ness supports the SAFE-T Act but is open to any changes that need to be made.

“The data shows that the new system is working as was intended: those most considered a threat are being held regardless of ability to pay, and those who are not a threat, are released until their trial,” Ness said in the questionnaire.

Parman is against SAFE-T Act, saying in her questionnaire that it “seems to make life better for those who break the law, while making life less safe for the public.”

Parman said the migrant crisis has “touched a lot of issues” for local citizens including worries of increased taxes and health care costs. Ness said her office partners with agencies throughout the state to provide resources for new arrivals so no one agency “bears the full weight.”

Early voting in McHenry County expanded last week, and voters have until Nov. 5 to cast their ballots.

Voters can learn more about Ness at citizensforsuzanneness.com and Parman at laurieparman.com.