Nabeela Syed: 2026 candidate for Illinois Senate District 26

Bio

Office sought: Senate District 26

Party: Democrat

City: Inverness

Age: 27

Previous offices held: State Representative

Q&A

What do you consider the three most pressing issues facing the state in the next four years, and how should they be addressed?

Property taxes, prescription drug costs, and the unchecked growth of data centers and AI infrastructure. Our property tax system is at a crisis point. Neighbors who have lived in their homes for decades are being forced out, and young families can't afford to put down roots. I have championed expanding the senior property tax freeze and supported increased state investment in education to reduce our overreliance on property taxes. But small fixes are not enough. We need real, across-the-board reductions so every homeowner feels relief.

On prescription drugs, I have fought to establish an oversight board that holds drug manufacturers accountable for the egregious cost of life-saving medications, so no family has to choose between prescriptions and groceries.

On data centers and AI, people are right to be concerned about how fast this technology is moving. We need rules that give bordering communities a real voice, enforce energy, water, and labor standards, and hold developers accountable. Tech investment cannot come at the expense of the families who live here. We also need clear rules for AI in our schools to protect how our children learn and prepare them for the workforce.

How would you assess the General Assembly's handling, to date, of the various proposals surrounding a Chicago Bears stadium in Arlington Heights? What proposals would you have been willing to support and in what ways, if any, might you have approached it differently?

I want the Bears to stay in Illinois. The team is part of who we are, and I want to find a way to keep them here without putting more burden on taxpayers in communities that are already struggling with so much.

I understand the frustrations on both sides, from avid Bears fans who want to keep rooting for their team, to neighbors who are afraid any agreement will mean a larger price tag for their family. Leaders in the General Assembly have come to the table in earnest, and we need to fully understand what the Bears want. If a proposal makes sense for economic development without putting any tax burden on residents, we should work to find a solution.

But with my district just a mile from the proposed stadium site in Arlington Heights, my responsibility is to make sure the people I represent are not shouldering the infrastructure costs. As I knock on doors, the biggest concern I hear is rising property taxes, and I cannot support anything that would shift an even larger burden onto homeowners and small businesses in our community. We need reasonable proposals from the Bears that keep the team in Illinois and ensure working families are not footing the bill.

Now roughly three years into the elimination of cash bail in Illinois as part of the SAFE-T Act, how would you assess the success or failure of the criminal justice reform measure? What changes, if any, would you support?

Since the elimination of cash bail, we have been working to implement a system where a judge's assessment of the facts, not a person's access to wealth, determines who is detained before trial. It is unacceptable to release someone who poses a threat of violence or harm to our community. That person should be detained.

Neither cash bail nor judicial discretion is 100% effective. But looking at a person's record and the evidence is fairer and more effective than asking whether they can afford to pay. Under the old system, someone dangerous with money could buy their way out. The first person detained in Lake County under the new law had bonded out on $350,000 bail after being charged with battering a police officer and violating an order of protection. Weeks later, he was accused of burglarizing the home of his wife, who had a protective order against him. Under the SAFE-T Act, a judge was able to keep him in jail.

I am open to any reform that makes our communities safer and ensures people who pose a real threat are held before trial. What I won't support is going back to a system where people can pay their way out of jail.

Illinois homeowners face one of the highest relative property tax burdens in the country. What specific proposals could you offer to ease the burden on state residents?

Property taxes are one of the biggest problems families in our community face, and they are the concern I hear most at the doors. The state doesn't levy or collect property taxes, but when people are forced out of homes they can't afford, the state has a responsibility to fix the system.

I have championed legislation to raise the eligibility threshold for the senior property tax freeze so more people can stay in the homes they've lived in for decades. But we need to go further. Tax bills are so high because our schools depend primarily on property taxes. The state must pay its fair share by fully funding the Evidence-Based Funding Formula. We should help schools lower costs by cutting expensive state mandates and helping cover transportation, and fix a tax system that falls hardest on low and middle income Illinoisans. I will keep fighting for fair assessments so homeowners aren't stuck paying more because other properties were assessed unfairly.

We can't settle for proposals that simply shift the burden. We need to restructure how we fund education entirely, so a young family moving in and a senior who helped build this community can both stay in their homes.

Gov. JB Pritzker recently paused a state initiative granting incentives to data center developers, and residents statewide have concerns about how such developments are affecting their access to water, utility rates, and the environment. How should the state approach data centers going forward?

I have seen firsthand what unchecked data center development looks like. When a developer sought to rezone 186 acres in Hoffman Estates for a potential data center, neighbors who had never been involved in local issues packed a public hearing to oppose it. They raised concerns about wildlife, health effects, land protection, and electricity use. I stood with them, and the developer withdrew its request. I also signed a letter urging the state to end its data center tax incentive, and days later, the Governor paused it.

But residents shouldn't have to fight this battle alone, one project at a time. We need strong statewide guardrails now so we can make smart, long-term decisions instead of reacting after the damage is done. That's why I support the POWER Act. Developers must be held to strict energy and water standards, because the resources they rely on belong to all of us. Bordering communities must have a real voice when projects sit on municipal boundaries. And any development must come with strong labor protections so if a project is approved, it creates good paying jobs and benefits Illinoisans, not just the companies building here.

Illinois’ “sanctuary” policies concerning immigration have made it a target for the Trump administration and critics who say they encourage criminal behavior. How do you feel about those policies, and how, if at all, would you change them?

Illinois's immigration policies, like the TRUST Act, make it clear that enforcing federal civil immigration law is not the job of local or state police, and that no one can be held due to immigration status alone without a judicial warrant. Illinois laws do not shield anyone from prosecution or standard law enforcement if a crime is committed. Our laws allow immigrant families to report crimes, cooperate with police, and access basic services without fear that a routine interaction will tear their family apart.

In Wauconda, I have heard from families afraid to leave their homes because of ICE raids, parents skipping work, and kids missing school. No family should have to live like that, which is why I do not support weakening these protections. I do support giving law enforcement the resources to focus on real public safety threats rather than becoming an arm of reckless federal immigration enforcement. Ultimately, Congress must pass comprehensive immigration reform. Too many families live in limbo with no fair pathway to citizenship, and they deserve the chance to earn it. Until then, Illinois should keep building communities that are safer for everyone, built on trust, not fear.

Many women in the legislature complain about a culture of sexual harassment in Springfield. Do you see evidence of this and, if so, what should be done about it?

There is no doubt that a culture of sexual harassment exists in Springfield, and it is absolutely unacceptable. Most women will experience sexual harassment in their lifetime, and Springfield is no exception. That is a terrible reality, but it is not one we have to accept.

Our response system must be trauma-informed, swift, and transparent to the public. When young women lose their jobs and careers because the system is too slow to protect them, the system has failed. I will fight for changes that ensure staff, lobbyists, legislators, and members of the public are heard and protected quickly, no matter who the perpetrator is. Complaints must be investigated by a fully independent office that doesn't need legislators' permission to act or to make its findings public.

Staff in Springfield and in our district offices must also have real human resources support. In an environment with such clear power imbalances, staff must be able to report harassment without fear of retaliation. No one should ever have to choose between their safety and their career.

Are you satisfied with the state's existing ethics policies for senators and representatives? If so, what about the policies should reassure Illinoisans that elected leaders abide by high standards? If not, what changes need to be made?

No, I am not satisfied. We have made real progress, including 10-year term limits for leadership, stronger campaign finance transparency and revolving-door restrictions, and a law barring people convicted of bribery or perjury from holding state office. Seeing Michael Madigan convicted of corruption last year proved that powerful people can be held accountable. But that is not enough.

At the doors, voters tell me they want to trust how decisions get made in Springfield, and we have to earn that trust. That starts with giving the Legislative Inspector General real independence, including the power to issue subpoenas and publish findings without sign-off from a commission of lawmakers. Legislators should have to disclose conflicts of interest and step aside from votes where they stand to benefit, and our economic interest statements should show where our income comes from and how much. People are skeptical of the government right now, and one of the ways to meaningfully earn back people’s trust, at least at the state level, is more transparency and real ethics reform.

What personal qualifications do you bring that would make you an effective legislator?

I was born and raised in Palatine and went to our public schools, and for the past two terms I've been proud to represent this community as State Representative. In that time, I've passed more than 25 bills, many with bipartisan support and many that started as conversations with constituents.

Legislating isn't easy, and it comes with tough decisions. What guides me is listening to the people I represent, even when that means holding my own party accountable. When Deer Park and North Barrington waited years for state funding, I pushed to release it for critical infrastructure projects. When residents dealt with poor water service from Aqua, I introduced legislation and held the company accountable. I've taken on big pharma and insurers over drug prices, rejected increases to sales tax, championed expanding the senior property tax freeze, expanded insurance coverage for cancer screenings, banned junk fees, and strengthened protections around sexual assault evidence.

I know how Springfield works and how to get results for our community. As State Senator, I'll be ready on day one to act with the urgency our families deserve, and I'll keep putting our community's concerns first.