Endorsement: Castro in Senate Dist. 22
There is no incumbent in Senate District 22, as incumbent Mike Noland is retiring. The challengers are Democrat Cristina Castro of Elgin, a longtime Kane County Board member, and small business owner Tracy Smodilla of Bartlett. Both candidates are knowledgeable and talk a good game about getting spending under control, producing a workable budget, revamping the education formula and pension reform.
Castro supports term limits on legislative leaders, but is less certain about applying that to legislators. She doesn't rule out tax increases but says the state needs to look at all other options first. She also supports the Independent Map Amendment.
We're confident, too, that Castro, as a Democrat representing the suburbs, will be more than a placeholder for the party that controls the state legislature, and to a large degree, the interests of the city of Chicago. As evidence of that, Castro cites her ability to work well with the GOP-dominated Kane County Board. She chairs the judicial and public safety committee and has had several meetings this summer with finance committee chair John Hoscheit and county board member John Martin, both Republicans, on how to balance the county's judicial budget for the next fiscal year. That's one example of what we've seen of her during her eight-year tenure. We'd strongly encourage her that, if elected, she continue to be cooperative and collegial, and not afraid to disagree with the Democratic majority in Springfield.
We endorse Castro.