2026 Election Questionnaire: Ricky Rivard, Illinois State Representative, 65th District

Name: Ricky Rivard

What office are you seeking: Illinois State Representative 65th District

What is your political party?

What is your current age? 44

Occupation and employer: Best Realty Fox Valley, Elmhurst University

What offices, if any, have you previously held? I serve as both the Elected Precinct Committeeperson for St. Charles Precinct 1 and as the Chair of the St. Charles 708 Mental Health Board.

City: Saint Charles

Campaign website: VoteRicky.com

Education: Master of Arts in Political Philosophy, Northern Illinois University

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Northern Illinois University

Bachelor of Arts in History, Northern Illinois University

Certificate in Civic Engagement, Northern Illinois University

Associate Degree, Waubonsee Community College

Community involvement: I serve as the volunteer Chair of the 708 Mental Health Board in Saint Charles, where we fund nonprofit organizations serving residents in our community with mental health or substance abuse programs. I also volunteer with We Can Lead Change, working on food drives and other community initiatives that the organization hosts throughout the year. I have taken part in the Fox River Cleanup program, working with friends to keep our riverbanks clean of litter and pollution. I really enjoy taking part in community events like the Scarecrow Fest. In the past, I have coached my daughter’s soccer team, but she has outgrown my soccer coaching skill set.

Marital status/Immediate family: I have two children.

What are your top three priorities for this district in Springfield?

As your Representative in Springfield, my top three priorities will be delivering real property tax relief, the affordability crisis that squeeze family budgets, and fighting to ensure our community is a livable and attainable place to call home.

I will fight for real property tax relief by fixing our school funding system, ending the over-reliance on local property taxes and pushing the state to meet its obligation to fund education. This will lighten the load on homeowners and renters.

I will work to lower the daily costs hitting working families, from healthcare and childcare to groceries and fees, so that more of your hard-earned money stays in your pocket.

I will also be an advocate for policies that make our community more livable for the long term, including responsible development, access to attainable housing, and protecting the local resources that make Fox Valley special. I’m running to be your pragmatic, focused voice in Springfield, because when our families succeed, our whole community succeeds.

How will you support economic growth and development in your district?

<span style=“font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;“>Development isn’t just about tax relief. Let’s invest in our Main Street communities so that each city, village, and town has a vibrant, thriving jewel in its area. I’ll collaborate with stakeholders in every corner of the district to encourage responsible development, so that restaurants, local grocery stores, and small businesses can thrive, making these essential services available close to home.</span>#####Ultimately, sustainable growth means making everyday life more affordable. I will work to lower the costs of necessities, like groceries, utility bills, and healthcare, to relieve the economic stress that so many feel every day. By strengthening the financial security of our families and revitalizing our local centers, we build a stronger, more prosperous community for everyone.

Do you support term limits for state representatives, and if so, what limits?

I believe the best part of being a professor of political science is the opportunity to study the structures of democracy, particularly the fundamental right of citizens to freely choose their leaders. The beauty of our system is that it allows each voter to decide the tenure of their elected officials. Every election is a referendum on an official’s work, and the people have the ultimate voice in keeping them in office or removing them, not some bureaucratic law.

I believe we should focus on reforming how campaigns are conducted and funded to eliminate the structural advantages those in power often have over newcomers and new ideas. Term limits would inadvertently shift political power from the people to party insiders and lobbyists, creating a constant cycle of inexperienced legislators dependent on unelected staff. True democratic accountability comes from empowering voters in each election, not by removing their range of choices.

How will you address the state’s long-term pension obligations?

The state’s pension challenge was not created in a single session, and it will not be solved in one either. My most important concern is ensuring we fulfill the promises made to our workers and retirees. I will support budgets that fully fund our pensions without asking more of the working men and women in our communities.

Through responsible stewardship, not empty promises, we will continue to make progress in meeting our obligations. We must also address the shortcomings of Tier 2. I will fight to ensure that public servants who entered the workforce under that system, including our teachers, law enforcement officers, and first responders, can retire with the dignity they have earned and deserve.

How will you address property taxes and school funding reform?

School funding reform and property tax relief are directly intertwined. The Illinois Constitution designates the state as having the “primary responsibility for financing the system of public education.” We must fulfill that responsibility from Springfield. By properly funding our schools at the state level, we can give local school districts the ability to lower their reliance on local property taxes. This will deliver the long-needed property tax relief our working families deserve.

Achieving this requires us to root out waste and fraud while remaining focused on our core priority: funding our teachers, the support staff, and properly resourcing our students to succeed. These reforms are paramount to building a stronger, fairer system for everyone.

What is your stance on the SAFE-T Act? What changes, if any, would you support?

The safety and well-being of our communities is the most important goal of any legislation passed in Springfield. I want to state beyond any doubt that I have the utmost trust in our law enforcement, judges, and state’s attorneys, and in the work they do to keep all of us safe.

The SAFE-T Act is a well-meaning piece of legislation that strives to ensure individuals arrested for non-violent crimes are not left in our penal system simply because they lack access to cash for bond. It directly addresses a fundamental flaw in the old cash bail system, where a defendant’s danger to the community was often secondary to their wealth. Under that system, a person arrested for a violent offense could buy their way out of jail before trial, while someone accused of a low-level, non-violent offense remained detained simply because they were poor.

However, the SAFE-T Act has also shown itself to have some shortcomings. As the State Representative, I will continue the work of refining this law to ensure it facilitates a just system while empowering our stakeholders, including police, prosecutors, and judges, with the tools they need to make sound decisions.

I support continuing to work with these dedicated professionals, both in our district and across the state, to ensure our justice system remains fair, effective, and keeps Illinois ahead.

What legislation would you propose to address crime and public safety in your district?

The safety and well-being of our communities is of the utmost importance for any legislation coming out of Springfield. Thankfully for everyone in the state, violent crime, and crime overall, continues to fall across our district and Illinois at large. That being said, it is by no means a reason to sit back and become complacent. We must act to build on this progress and make even greater strides.

I believe in properly funding our state and local law enforcement so they can continue the essential work they do in our communities. A key part of this initiative is improving relationships between law enforcement and the public through community policing and by ensuring more officers are where they are needed most: on our streets and engaged with residents, rather than confined to administrative duties.

What is your stance on reproductive rights in Illinois?

I will fight to protect and expand reproductive rights in Illinois because we cannot take our fundamental freedoms for granted. While our state has strong protections, politicians against individual liberties continue to push for restrictions that would limit access to contraception, IVF, and essential reproductive care. That’s why I will fight to formally codify these rights in state law and to create the strongest patient privacy protections in the nation. This means banning the sharing of medical records with hostile states, prohibiting surveillance at healthcare facilities, and stopping health apps from selling personal data. I will also fight to expand provider networks so that no one in our district has to travel unreasonable distances for care.

In the digital age, reproductive freedom requires both physical access and ironclad digital privacy. I will fight to ensure that no patient in Illinois is ever tracked, prosecuted, or extorted for seeking basic healthcare, and to establish strong legal shields that protect both patients and providers from out-of-state harassment. This is how we secure dignity, autonomy, and safety for everyone in our state.

What is your opinion of the TRUST Act (sanctuary state protections)?

I believe the TRUST Act is a vital and necessary policy, and my support for it has been reinforced by the actions we have witnessed in our community and across the nation. We have seen Immigration and Customs Enforcement arresting children on their way home from school, taking mothers from school drop-off lines, and detaining valued members of our communities, sometimes under circumstances that defy court orders and send individuals to unnamed detention centers in other states. This reinforces the urgent need for protections like the TRUST Act now more than ever.

Our local law enforcement agencies are not equipped, nor should they be tasked, to enforce federal civil immigration law. The TRUST Act establishes a crucial baseline, ensuring our immigrant communities feel safe cooperating with law enforcement to prevent and reduce crime. Let me be clear: our criminal justice system is designed to investigate, prosecute, and to hold those found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt accountable for their actions. The TRUST Act allows our already overtaxed law enforcement to focus on what matters most to everyone, which is keeping our communities safe.

Should the state expand Medicaid funding?

At a time when healthcare subsidies are at stake and increasing the costs of every aspect of healthcare for everyday Americans, it is more important than ever that we ensure access to the care Illinoisans need. I will fight to make sure that everyone who needs access to healthcare has an affordable, high-quality option through Medicaid.

Medicaid is the only option for some of our most vulnerable neighbors and children in Illinois. I will fight to ensure that every child has access to healthcare and that hardworking Illinoisans who are priced out of the private marketplace have a safety net that provides peace of mind. Everyone deserves to know that if illness strikes, they have access to quality medical care. I will fight to make sure all who qualify for Medicaid can access the program, and I will work to create pathways for those priced out of the private market to buy into a low-cost Medicaid option. This will boost the financial stability of the program while extending coverage to more of our neighbors.

Should local governments have more authority over solar farm development in their communities?

I strongly believe in local autonomy and the right of communities to make decisions that are best for their unique needs. There is no single solution that fits every part of a state as diverse as Illinois or an economy as varied as our community. Allowing local governments more flexibility to decide when and where to permit solar farm development is one of the many choices they should be able to make with less involvement from Springfield.

Should Illinois expand use of nuclear energy, including facilities like the Byron plant? What’s your vision for the state’s energy mix?

Illinois needs to produce more power. Our energy supplies are stretched thin and costs continue to rise for working families. Building toward a cleaner and brighter future for Illinois requires investment in nuclear energy, as it is a carbon-free, incredibly reliable, and safe method of producing power for our residents.

Investment in nuclear energy is practical option for solving our energy crisis. Over the lifespan of a plant, costs are lower and the external impacts of energy production are reduced compared to other forms of generation. Any serious plan for our state’s energy future must include nuclear options as a foundation, which will allow Illinois to lead on clean energy development while creating thousands of high-paying jobs in construction and energy production.

What role should the state play in housing affordability?

The first rung of the property ladder seems to get further out of reach every year for more and more of our neighbors. Housing is key to building generational wealth, and I will fight to make sure everyone who wants to buy a home and settle down in our wonderful community has the opportunity to do so. Housing is a necessity for a safe and secure life, not something that should be traded like a commodity by Wall Street and out-of-state opportunists looking to maximize profits at the expense of our community.

Working with local municipalities to update and modernize zoning regulations to reflect our changing needs will be essential. We should also look to streamline the development process to lower costs for builders, remove unnecessary codes and regulations that drive up prices, and collaborate closely with stakeholders in the building trades. These steps are vital to creating more attainable housing for Illinois families.

How should the state address rising energy costs from data centers? How do you balance water rights between communities and industry regarding data center development?

The explosion in data center development has come with the cost of increasing energy prices and water consumption. Data centers cannot be allowed to pass the cost of their energy use onto the working families in our community, and they must have a clear plan for responsible water usage, as water table levels and pollution concerns affect us all.

I call for a pause on the construction of new data centers until developers produce concrete plans that demonstrate responsible energy and water use, ensuring further expansion does not further harm the wallets of our working families. I will fight to make sure that data centers that are constructed pay energy rates higher than residential consumers, so that these costs are not placed on the shoulders of homeowners and renters. Our communities’ water rights must come before the needs of industrial cooling in the development of data centers.

To what level should the state fund a new stadium for the Chicago Bears?

The Chicago Bears are a source of pride for many in our state, and keeping the team in Illinois is a priority. That being said, spending a significant amount of public money on a private stadium at a time when working families are struggling with affordability in every aspect of life is irresponsible. Study after study has shown that public investment in private stadiums fail to return the economic gains promised when these unbalanced deals are made.

I support the state investing in public infrastructure, transportation, and community improvements that would incidentally benefit a new stadium project. However, the focus must remain on improving infrastructure for our residents, not paying the way for a private corporation. I love football and admire the architecture of stadium construction, but pledging substantial public funds toward the stadium itself is not a responsible use of taxpayer money.

Should the state regulate the use of AI in the classroom? To what extent?

As a professor, I have direct experience with the challenge of AI in the learning environment. AI is a tool, and it should be treated as such. There are times when AI can be useful, but overreliance on generative AI can undermine the educational development of students.

I do not believe the state needs to broadly regulate AI use in the classroom. These decisions are better left to local school districts and the teachers who understand their students’ needs. It is imperative that educators adapt to the changing landscape by designing lessons and assignments that fall outside the reach of AI, and by incorporating AI responsibly when it is appropriate. Ultimately, I believe individual teachers and school districts are better equipped to navigate this balance than a one-size-fits-all mandate from Springfield.

Who are your top donors? How often do you speak with them?

My donors are the working-class men and women throughout our district and across our state. I am a single father, working every day to build a better life for my family and our community. My friends, family, and supporters reflect this grassroots, working-class foundation. We are a small-donor movement building a coalition of all political backgrounds.

I am in constant communication with people across my district, regardless of party affiliation, because at the end of the day we are all looking for solutions to the growing challenges we face. Our supporters and donors have shared belief that we are stronger together when we work to build a better future for everyone. This includes those who have achieved success and understand that true success means lifting up those among us who have the least.

I will always show up to tell Springfield that we are no longer accepting things as they are and fight for what they should be. When we stand together, when we organize, when we demand better, and when we refuse to settle, there is no limit to what we can achieve.

I would love to talk with you as well. If you would like to discuss any of these answers or share other concerns, please contact me through my website. I welcome and look forward to discussing these things with you.

Together, we will move Illinois forward, as friends, as neighbors, and as a community united