Wheaton city councilwoman running for state House seat

Current Wheaton City Council member and Democrat Erica Bray-Parker has launched a campaign to succeed retiring Republican Amy Grant in an Illinois House seat.

Bray-Parker, a teacher at Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream, has been on the Wheaton council since 2019. She holds one of the two council at-large positions, which represent all of Wheaton. Bray-Parker has now emerged as a candidate for the 47th state House district seat.

“I was raised to value justice, mercy and humility,” Bray-Parker said in a campaign announcement. “As a mom, wife, teacher and neighbor I have done my best to put those values into practice in my daily life. As a public high school teacher I have also promoted active democracy.”

Grant has announced her current term will be her last and plans to bow out in 2027. Grant first served on the DuPage County Board and then won four elections to the Illinois House.

Last year, Grant defeated her Democratic challenger in a rematch from 2022. But it was a hard-fought, close race, and her opponent’s campaign received major funding from the Democratic Party of Illinois and JB for Governor, according to Reform for Illinois' Sunshine Database.

Bray-Parker recently kicked off her campaign in downtown Wheaton’s Adams Park. She has been an educator for more than 30 years and currently teaches civics and psychology at Glenbard North. Bray-Parker has said she decided to “practice what I preach with my students,” and made a winning bid for a city council spot.

Her current term expires in 2027.

“One of my priorities is to strengthen that relationship between the state government, local government and county government,” Bray-Parker said, “so we’re not overlapping for the people, but we’re working hard together for the people.”

Bray-Parker said she’s hearing from people going door to door about affordability “in all kinds of areas.”

“But also people are tired of the political rhetoric, especially at the national level, and I think people are looking for the state to function in a logical, responsive way,” she said.

She said she tells voters that has been her focus on the council, to be “very logical,” to look at the facts and respond to meet the needs of “as many of your constituents as you can.”

Candidates can begin filing their nomination papers to get their names on the ballot on Oct. 27. The primary election is in March.