Hanson, Boxenbaum meet again in 83rd state House race
Freshman state Rep. Matt Hanson, a former Kane County Board member, heads into the final stretch of his primary campaign with support from Illinois Democratic leaders and some high-profile endorsements.
But the first-term incumbent is facing a progressive challenge from Arad Boxenbaum, a 22-year-old Geneva library trustee who promises to be a full-time lawmaker.
Hanson bested Boxenbaum to secure the Democratic nod in their first matchup in 2022. Hanson went on to defeat four-term Republican Keith Wheeler in the redrawn 83rd Illinois House District, now a long strip encompassing parts of St. Charles, Batavia, North Aurora, Aurora, Montgomery and Oswego.
This time, no Republican is running for the seat, effectively making this month’s Democratic primary a winner-take-all contest.
“We really need a full-time representative,” Boxenbaum said at a recent League of Women Voters forum. “We need an active Democratic leadership that really does fight day in and day out for his community, regardless of political leanings.”
Hanson, 50, an engineer for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, has received thousands of dollars’ worth of in-kind donations from House Speaker Chris Welch’s campaign fund and the Democrats for the Illinois House committee, according to campaign finance reports filed last month.
Hanson said he has the experience to become a “serious part” of discussions in Springfield addressing a massive looming shortfall in funding for Chicago-area public transit agencies.
“One of the reasons I am best suited to continue my work in Springfield is one of the budgetary issues that's coming fast and furious is the transit — I want to call it a crisis — the popular label is a ‘fiscal cliff,’” Hanson said in a joint interview with the Daily Herald Editorial Board. “There'll be a shortage in the operational budget independent of the capital budget darn near a billion dollars for the next couple of years.”
Boxenbaum, who is running on a more liberal platform, has been endorsed by Run For Something, a political network that recruits and supports young progressive candidates. The Geneva Democrat supports an independent redistricting process in Illinois that would ensure “adequate demographic representation.” Boxenbaum also has called for a ballot measure seeking to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution.
“It’s one of the No. 1 issues in this district,” Boxenbaum said. “We need to ensure that everyone's rights are protected and that women's bodily autonomy is protected under the law. Until that right is guaranteed, we cannot call ourselves equal under the law.”
Concern about gun violence led Boxenbaum into politics. Hanson argues for making better use of the state’s “red flag” law. The Montgomery Democrat has been endorsed by the Gun Violence Prevention PAC and Planned Parenthood.
“A constitutional amendment may be an option,” Hanson said. “But that's also very complicated, and I know that we're exploring that. There is a working group that is actively exploring that, and we will see if that makes it in through the Assembly this year.”
The primary election is March 19.