Democrat Melissa Coyne and incumbent Pamela Althoff, a Republican, will face off in next month’s general election for a two-year term representing Illinois Senate District 32.
Illinois Senate District 32 represents northern McHenry County, including Woodstock, Crystal Lake and McHenry. It also represents part of Lake County, including Fox Lake.
Althoff was first appointed to the district in 2003 and has been elected since 2004, according to her Illinois General Assembly biography. She was a special education teacher from 1975 to 1981 and mayor of the City of McHenry from 2001 until she was appointed to the Illinois Senate.
Coyne is a resident of Fox Lake. She and her husband own a small business in Johnsburg, and she has been a “civic participant” through community service since she was pursuing her undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Althoff favors term limits for elected state officials, freezing property taxes, redistricting and making Monetary Assistance Program grants available to Illinois college students. Coyne supports a $15 minimum wage, alternative energy sources, expanding medicinal marijuana cultivation and aims to protect a woman’s and family’s right to choice.
Both candidates favor funding human services programs, following Gov. Bruce Rauner's cuts in funding for those programs during the state budget impasse.
Endorsements
Althoff has been endorsed by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Herald and Northwest Herald.
- This report was compiled by WNIJ's Katie Finlon.
