IRTAPAC Endorsements

 

Retired Teachers Endorse Candidates
for Illinois General Assembly

(Springfield, Ill. – September 1, 2022) The Illinois Retired Teachers Association Political Action Committee (IRTAPAC) is proud to announce its endorsed candidates, both republicans and democrats, for the November 8, 2022, general election. 

“We have carefully vetted the candidates for Illinois House and Illinois Senate, and we are confident that each will make excellent proponents of retired teachers” said Sharon Teefey, Chair of the IRTAPAC.  “The lack of an endorsement should not necessarily be viewed as a negative reflection of a particular candidate’s views on retired teachers’ issues in general.”

The deliberation process was based on several factors, including answers to a short questionnaire, voting history, demonstrated support for retirees, support for the rights of retirees under the constitution, member recommendation and staff recommendation. Only candidates who returned a completed questionnaire were evaluated.  The recipients who received endorsement were nominated by the members of the IRTA Political Action Committee and then ultimately approved for endorsement by the IRTAPAC Board of Directors.

“Via the questionnaire and in-person discussions we assessed candidates on issues such as the constitution, the current tax code, health insurance, and funding,” IRTAPAC Board Chair, Bill Funkhouser said. “We endorsed candidates who tell us that promises made are promises kept and that they will vote to fully-fund those commitments.  No other factors besides the issues relating to retired educators were considered when making these endorsements.”

The IRTAPAC is pleased to report receiving the most returned questionnaires in its history at 110.  “We owe a huge thank you to our members and the IRTAPAC committee for staying vigilant and reaching out to their elected officials and candidates, urging them to return their questionnaires,” Teefey added. 

The following selected candidates from the House of Representatives are listed in order by districts: (Click the candidates name to be directed to their official website/Facebook page to learn more about them.)

Rep. Margaret Croke (D-12) | Rep. Michael Kelley (D-15) |  Kevin Olickal (D-16) | Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-17) | Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-18) | Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-19) | Rep. Bradley Stephens (R-20) | Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin (D-38) | Rep. Terra Costa-Howard (D-42) |  Rep. Anna Moeller (D-43) | Rep. Fred Crespo (D-44) | Diane Blair-Sherlock (D-46) | Kevin Wallace (R-49) | Rep. Mark Walker (D-53) | Mary Beth Canty (D-54) | Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-56) | Rep. Jonathan Carroll (D-57) | Rep. Bob Morgan (D-58) | Rep. Daniel Didech (D-59) | Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-60) | Rep. Joyce Mason (D-61) | Brian Meyers (D-63) | Rep. Tom Weber (R-64) | Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-65) | Rep. Maurice West (D-67) | Rep. Dave Vella (D-68) | Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-70) | Rep. Daniel Swanson (R-71) | Gregg Johnson (D-72) | Rep. Lance Yednock (D-76) | Rep. Jackie Haas (R-79)  | Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-80) | Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-83) | Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-84) | William Hauter (R-87) | Rep. Tony McCombie (R-89) | John Cabello (R-90) | Sharon Chung (D-91) | Rep. Norine Hammond (R-94) | Rep. Tim Butler (R-95) | Rep. Sue Scherer (D-96) | Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-100) | Rep. Carrol Ammons (D-103) | Rep. Mike Marron (R-104) | Dennis Tipsword Jr. (R-105) | Rep. Thomas Bennett (R-106) | Wayne Rosenthal (R-108) | Rep. Charles Meier (R-109) | Rep. Amy Elk (R-111) | Rep. Katie Stuart (D-112) | Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-113) | Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-117).

The following candidates from the Senate include:

Javier Cervantes (D-1) | Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-6) |Senator Ram Villavalam (D-8) | Senator Laura Fine (D-9) | Senator Laura Ellman (D-21) | Senator Cristina Castro (D-22) | Senator Karina Villa (D-25) | Senator Ann Gillespie (D-27) | Senator Laura Murphy (D-28) | Senator Julie Morrison (D-29) | Senator Adriane Johnson (D-30) | Mary Edly-Allen (D-31) | Senator Craig Wilcox (R-32) | Senator Donald DeWitte (R-33) | Senator Dave Syverson (R-35) | Michael Halpin (D-36) | Senator Sue Rezin (R-38) | Senator Patrick Joyce (D-40) | Senator Linda Holmes (D-42) | Rachel Ventura (D-43) | Senator Sally Turner (R-44) | Andrew Chesney (R-45) | Senator Dave Koehler (D-46) |Senator Doris Turner (D-48) | Senator Jil Tracy (R-50) | Senator Chapin Rose (R-51) | Terri Bryant (R-58)

The Illinois Retired Teachers Association is a nonpartisan, grassroots political organization. The Association advocates for the interests of Illinois retired public-school educators. The Association’s members are retired educators, active educators who are near retirement and those supportive of retired educators. They work to serve the interests of retired educators through advocacy, education, cooperation, and socialization.  

Please vote on or before November 8, 2022.  Early voting begins on September 29th, 2022.  

 

The Illinois Retired Teachers Association is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization of retired educators. The Association serves the needs and interests of its members through advocacy, education, cooperation, and socialization in a flexible organizational structure. Learn more at irtaonline.org.