The race to fill a vacancy in the Illinois Senate’s 53rd district is filling up.
The 53rd district includes parts of 13 Illinois counties, including McLean, Peoria and Tazewell. Incumbent Tom Bennett announced his retirement in July. Bennett was appointed to the seat after Republican Jason Barrickman of Bloomington resigned from the redrawn district in 2022.
The district is solidly red, with several incumbents previously running unopposed.
Now, three Republicans announced their intentions to run for the seat: Grundy County Board Chair Chris Balkema, family farm CEO Mike Kirkton and Washington Mayor Gary Manier.
All three share similarities in their platforms. They all say they’re pro-second amendment and anti-abortion rights. They all want lower property and income taxes in Illinois.
They all have critiques of current state leadership. Manier and Balkema referred to some of the policies they object to as “unfunded mandates.” Balkema used the September implementation of no cash bail as an example.
“The parameters of that program, allow or cause revenues to fall,” he said. “And then the expenses go up because staff has been needed to be added across the board in several different departments to accommodate the additional requirements that the program is driving.”
Balkema also claimed other provisions in the SAFE-T Act raises costs on counties.
Manier pointed to different “unfunded mandates.” He said one priority for him is reversing a reduction in the share of income tax provided to municipalities.
“[It] was 10%,” he said. “In 2011, they reduced it to 6%. And I think that’s probably a big dollar amount for most cities, no matter what size they are.”
Manier hopes his two decades serving in local government will encourage voters to choose him. He said leading the town of Washington through a devastating tornado is one of his standout achievements in the position. Another is the creation of the Five Points Washington complex.
He also referenced ongoing road construction projects, like the realignment of Nofsinger Road and extending Freedom Parkway.
“I think it’s just important to know everything we’ve done, I’m proud of.” Manier said.
Balkema also has a local government background. He’s been the chair of the Grundy County Board for six years. When he started on the board, its membership was split between eight Democrats and 10 Republicans. He credits this split with giving him experience working across the aisle.
“It obviously required a lot of dialogue and communication,” Balkema said. “And so going forward, over the last cycles, we walk in and we don’t talk about party. We just roll up our sleeves and get to work on what’s best for our county.”
Kirkton also pointed to his time on a county board as evidence of his effectiveness as a politician.
“Being on a county board teaches you how to work with others,” he said. “Even though they’re like minded you may disagree on issues. And how you can, you know, advocate for your constituents within your district.”
Kirkton says a major priority for him is landowner rights. He pointed to the use of eminent domain as something he’s staunchly opposed to. However, he pointed out, he also supports landowners' right to choose to let some of their land for wind or solar if that’s what they want.
“I know a lot of small farmers out there that see it as an opportunity to supplement their income in those years when we see grain prices fluctuating significantly,” Kirkton said. “And they're trying to feed their family and put their families through school. And they have this opportunity to help kind of bounce that out with additional revenue. Of course, they're gonna want to do that.”
The concern about eminent domain extends to recently proposed carbon capture pipelines in the district. While Kirkton said he wouldn’t support using eminent domain to make the pipelines, he said he needs to do more research before taking a definitive stance on them.
Balkema also said carbon capture requires more conversations and a definitive plan for the state. Manier said he doesn’t know much about the pipelines, but knows that his constituents don’t want one in their backyard.
The candidates are also concerned with attracting people and businesses to the state, as well as retaining those who already live here.
“I think some of the taxing in Illinois has pushed some people out, from a business standpoint, especially, and a personal one,” Manier said. “Trying to leave the state to get away from the taxing part of it.”
All three candidates agree lowering costs for businesses is key to attracting them to Illinois, but it’s not always about the taxes alone.
Kirkton pointed directly to the state’s workman’s comp insurance rate. He shares an anecdote about a South Streator business whose CEO claims to spend between $1.5 and $2 million annually on workman’s comp insurance for around 600 employees.
“So we can do a better job of encouraging businesses, not only to stay in the state, but encouraging other businesses to come to the state,” Kirkton said. “And I think that's one thing I'd really like to champion is getting businesses to not only stay here, but to come here.”
The candidates also generally agree on how they’ll conduct themselves as a senator. They say it’s important to advocate for their constituents first. Manier describes himself as a “sevant leader.” Kirkton said he built his list of priorities from conversations with constituents in the district.
“While I am very happy to continue chairing the Grundy County Board, I really am interested to get to Springfield and try and assist,” Balkema said. “There's too many unfunded state mandates and too many drivers that are unfairly penalizing the counties.”
The 2024 primary is March 19, with the general election on Nov. 5.
