Jared Ploger: 2026 candidate for Illinois House District 84

Bio

Party: Democratic

Office sought: Illinois House District 84

City: Aurora

Age: 50

Occupation: High school teacher

Previous offices held: Oswego Community Unit District 308 Board member 2015-2019 and 2022-2025

Q&A

Are you comfortable with the way the state budget is developed? If not, what should be done differently?

Not entirely. The process is too opaque and too rushed at the end, which makes it easier for special interests to win and harder for taxpayers to follow the money.

I support a more transparent, results-driven budget process: publish major budget proposals and “budget notes” earlier; require clear fiscal and performance impacts for new or expanded programs; strengthen routine audits and online spending transparency; and reduce end-of-session “dump and vote” budgeting by setting deadlines that force public review before final votes.

We should also use multiyear forecasting more consistently so we’re not budgeting year-to-year without a clear long-term plan.

Do you favor any tax increases or revenue enhancements to address fiscal problems?

Yes — but only if they’re fair, targeted, and tied to real relief for working families. Illinois’s core problem isn’t that we tax too little; it’s that we tax in the wrong places. Our system leans too heavily on property taxes and other regressive taxes and fees, which squeeze middle-class families.

Illinois has already debated this. Gov. Pritzker backed the 2020 “Fair Tax” amendment to allow a graduated income tax, but voters rejected it on Nov. 3, 2020. The affordability problem hasn’t gone away, and neither needs a fairer, more sustainable tax structure.

Going forward, I support keeping a progressive model on the table, asking more of those at the top while also pursuing responsible near-term steps like closing loopholes, reviewing tax credits for measurable public benefit, and improving enforcement and collections so we can stabilize revenues without raising costs on everyday necessities.

Do you favor any changes in the pension structure for state employees?

I don’t support changes that cut earned benefits or shift retirement risk onto workers. State employees earned their pensions, and the pension problem was driven by decades of underfunding, not by public workers.

What I do support are reforms that strengthen the system long-term: fixing Tier 2 so it’s fair and sustainable, improving investment oversight and transparency, and modernizing or consolidating administrative functions where it reduces costs without harming members.

I’m also open to responsible adjustments to the funding schedule that smooth year-to-year spikes while still meeting Illinois’ obligations. Any changes must be legally sound and developed with labor at the table

What should Illinois policy be toward immigration and federal efforts to enforce immigration laws?

Illinois’ policy should be to protect residents’ constitutional rights and public safety by keeping civil immigration enforcement a federal responsibility — without turning local police, schools, courthouses, and hospitals into extensions of ICE and that’s consistent with laws Illinois has already passed, including the Illinois TRUST Act (2017), which limits state and local law enforcement’s role in federal civil immigration enforcement, the VOICES Act, which helps ensure immigrant survivors can seek U- and T-visa certifications without fear, and the Way Forward Act (Public Act 102-0234, 2021), which strengthened those protections and clarified that Illinois law does not authorize state or local officers to enforce federal civil immigration laws.

More recently, Gov. JB Pritzker signed HB 1312 (often associated with the S.A.L.T. platform) in December 2025, expanding “sensitive locations” protections and creating new accountability tools — like a state civil cause of action for unconstitutional conduct during civil immigration enforcement — so families can access schools and health care without intimidation.

Ethics reform has long been promised in Illinois with little action. What would you do to change that?

Ethics reform fails in Illinois because the system is designed to protect insiders — weak enforcement, opaque decision-making, and last-minute “gut-and-replace” lawmaking that keeps the public out until it’s too late.

I’d push to change that by strengthening independent oversight (real subpoena power, enforceable penalties, and adequate staffing for the Office of the Legislative Inspector General and the Illinois Legislative Ethics Commission), tightening conflict-of-interest rules and disclosures (including for immediate family and business ties), and closing the revolving door so lawmakers and senior staff can’t cash in as lobbyists right after leaving office.

I’d also support rules that stop end-of-session surprise amendments by requiring public posting and a meaningful review period before votes, along with tougher pay-to-play restrictions on campaign money tied to state contracting. And I’d make it real by refusing leadership carve-outs, publicly supporting independent investigations.