• Keeping our communities safe is one of my highest priorities as a public official and as a citizen. As a parent of two school-age children, I have a persistent fear about where the next shooting will take place, and whether we are doing all we can to protect our kids–and all of us–from preventable harm. 

    I am proud to have twice received both the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate Distinction and the endorsement of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC. Since being elected in 2022 I have worked with my colleagues to pass common sense gun laws, including the Safe Gun Storage Act, strengthening safe storage requirements in homes where a firearm could be accessed by a minor, an at-risk person, or someone otherwise prohibited from using firearms, and requiring every law enforcement agency in Illinois to participate in the federal firearm tracing platform eTrace.

  • Property taxes continue to be one of my main legislative focus areas. Our property tax system in Illinois is broken, and it will take both political will and time to get to the underlying causes, including better funding of our public school systems so they are not overly reliant on residential property taxes.In 2023, I passed legislation requiring Illinois to study the property tax structures of surrounding states and produce a report outlining recommendations for improvement. In 2025, I was named to the House Property Tax Working Group, and filed legislation to increase the income threshold for the senior freeze exemption and senior tax deferral programs, and allow counties to create payment plans for owners facing tax sales. 

    In addition, we know that the cost of living is making life harder for everyday Illinoisans. At the state level we are focusing on things we can control - paying our pension obligations, funding the K-12 Evidence-Based Funding Model (EBF), and eliminating programs that are not effective. By paying our bills, providing more funding to our schools, and focusing on programs that deliver for Illinoisans we can reduce local reliance on residential property taxes while still maintaining the standard of living you deserve. 

    We are also closely watching the impacts of federal legislation as it is passed - we know that healthcare and our social safety net programs will be hit hardest, and felt by people who can afford it the least. I am committed to working with my colleagues to help make life more affordable for Illinois residents.

  • I am proud of my record supporting education in Illinois. In my first year I passed the common-sense approach to creating full-day kindergarten access statewide. Knowing that 90% of brain development occurs from birth to age 5, making sure our resources are efficiently deployed for our youngest learners is a smart financial move for the state. I created the Department of Early Childhood to make sure that our programs and funding for early childhood, like early intervention, day care licensing, and others, are housed in one location to make those systems work better for families, providers, and the taxpayers. Better and more efficient funding and programs in the early education space means less money spent down the line on remediation programs or incarcerations, and more savings for you, the taxpayer.

    In addition, I continue to support our programs for career and technical education, apprenticeships, and more equitable funding for higher education.

  • I believe in everyone’s right to make their own healthcare decisions. It is your fundamental right as a human being to control what goes on with your body, and to make decisions that are between you and your doctor only. 

    In 2022 I promised to be a tireless advocate and fearless champion for the women of our district by protecting a woman’s right to choose, working to end violence against women, and fighting for equal pay, paid family leave, and more affordable childcare. 

    I am proud to have delivered on those commitments: in 2023 I passed a pay transparency initiative requiring employers making public job postings to tell you what those jobs are worth at the time they advertise. 

    In addition, we passed a reproductive rights and gender affirming care omnibus bill safeguarding health care providers and their patients from legal attacks by neighboring states. 

    In 2024 we further expanded reproductive rights in Illinois by guaranteeing emergency medical care for pregnant women, expanding shield laws, and prohibiting discrimination based on reproductive health decisions, and also passed the Birth Equity Initiative—a set of policies and programs designed to support Illinois women and address persistent healthcare inequities. ​ ​

    I am proud to have twice received both the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate Distinction and the endorsement of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC. Since being elected in 2022 I have worked with my colleagues to pass common sense gun laws, including the Safe Gun Storage Act, strengthening safe storage requirements in homes where a firearm could be accessed by a minor, an at-risk person, or someone otherwise prohibited from using firearms, and requiring every law enforcement agency in Illinois to participate in the federal firearm tracing platform eTrace.

  • I am proud to have repeatedly earned the endorsement of the Sierra Club and Faith in Place, and to have consistently earned a 100% Environmental Scorecard from the Illinois Environmental Council for my record protecting our environment. 

    Green energy and smart development are good for both our economy and the future of our planet, in addition to being job creators. That is why I am also proud to be the lead sponsor of legislation looking to bring down our Greenhouse Gases as we improve public transportation, and to be part of the House Public Transportation Working Group focused on fixing our broken system.

  • I have long supported our law enforcement officers and first responders, and am proud to say that the first bill I passed in my legislative career was one to protect first responders who are catastrophically or fatally injured on the job. In 2024 I received a legislative award from the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois for my work in the General Assembly. I also serve on the Appropriations - Public Safety committee, making sure that our law enforcement agencies have the support and funding they need from the state.