First term state Rep. Pam Roth, R-Morris, faces an election challenge from Jeremy Ly, a Democrat and four-year Grundy County Board member from Minooka.
Roth was appointed to the 75th District House seat in January 2010, to replace Sue Rezin, who had been elected to the post, but then was appointed to replace retired Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville.
The 75th District includes southwest Will County and Grundy County except for its southeast townships, plus territory north to Plano and Oswego. Bourbonnais and west Kankakee County have been dropped from the district.
Ly (pronounced Lee) is a former teacher, union leader and aide to former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson. He is now a "career cruising specialist" at Joliet Junior College — working to connect local businesses with students looking for work.
A life-long resident of the Minooka-Channahon area, he describes himself as the son of a father who escaped communist Vietnam, came penniless to America, learned English and became a union machine operator, and of a mother who was the first of her poor Joliet family to graduate from college.
His website identifies key issues as promotion of local jobs and infrastructure development. He also would push "needs-results based budgeting" for the state — rewarding programs that show a return on investment and ending wasteful ones.
"As a former classroom teacher, I will bring a unique voice to the table to advocate for quality public education for all students," he said. "It is time we add a teacher's perspective to the debates in Springfield."
Roth is the former board president of the Saratoga School District in Morris, a member of the House committee on elementary and secondary education, as well as the appropriations committee for education funding.
She also serves on committees on aging, appropriations for human services, consumer protection and environmental health.
She describes herself as a full-time legislator. She recently was selected as one of the first 40 people in the new Edgar Fellows Leadership Program, established by former Gov. Jim Edgar at the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs.
A certified public accountant, she was formerly employed as a senior financial analyst at the Dresden nuclear power station in rural Morris.
She has stated that she would not take a legislative pension and co-sponsored legislation to eliminate pensions for legislators.
Key issues are repealing the 2010 income tax hikes, reforming Medicaid, and properly paying social service providers and other state vendors "instead of balancing the budget on their backs."