May announces she will not seek 6th legislative term

State Rep. Karen May has announced she will not see re-election to the position she has held for the previous decade.

The Highland Park Democrat did not give a reason for not seeking re-election, but said she looks forward to actively representing the 58th district during the remainder of her term.

“I am grateful for the support of the community that has elected me for six terms and I will continue to provide the representation and services that the district deserves,” she said in a news release Wednesday.

May has been re-elected to her position five times since first winning election in November 2000.

But, she said in the news release that after serving more than a decade in the state legislature, now is the time to step down.

“I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've had to serve my community in a number of ways over the years, and having the honor of representing people as their advocate in our state's capitol certainly tops the list,” May said. “This job allows you to have such an incredible impact on people's lives. It has been a lot of hard work, but so gratifying and rewarding.”

Before being elected to the state legislature, May served as a member of the Highland Park City Council and served on the Highland Park Historic Preservation Commission.

During her decade in office, May said she has worked on environmental protection, ethics reform, property tax relief, common sense gun control laws, better access to more affordable health care and state budget reforms.