Margaret A. DeLaRosa: 2026 candidate for Illinois House District 42
Bio
Office sought: House District 42
Party: Democratic
City: Glen Ellyn
Age: 65
Previous offices held: Board Member - Glenbard High School District 87
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?
The most pressing issues facing our state are
Federal Overreach - ICE actions, SNAP and pending Medicaid cuts
Housing Availability and cost of living
AI, the unknown impact to daily living
‘Midway Blitz’ is estimated to have cost the Chicago Metro area $1.3 Billion dollars in lost revenue. The state is in court defending legislation to keep federal agents out of our court houses, hospitals and daycare centers.
The high cost housing and groceries is impacted by gas prices, New housing is being addressed with multi- unit residences in each of my municipalities. We need to provide families with tax credits and subsidies to assist in homeownership.
More importantly we need to press the federal government to exit the illegal war with Iran and lower gas and food costs.
Finally, we need to robust legislation on verifying the safety and security of AI agent development. Meta recently agreed to a 17 billion settlement for the harms of social media to children. They are paying for known damages of their product. We must put strong guardrails on AI agent development to protect our Illinois residents, while the federal government want no AI guardrails.
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?
The Bears must decide what is best for their business, at this point there is no action for the General Assembly to take besides to ensure that any agreement reached serves the best interest of Illinois residents.
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?
The implementation of the SAFE-T Act has been a critical improvement in our bail system. By eliminating cash bail, detainment is based on community safety and flight risk, rather than wealth. However, There is evidence to support an amendment to SAFE-T Act in the following areas:
electronic monitoring violations
failures to appear
Electronic monitoring violations should more quickly lead to arrest warrants, reviewed by a judge. Failures to appear should generate a similar action.
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?
Local property taxes are under the purview of the local governments. The state does not directly impact property taxes. The General Assembly passed 8 consecutive budgets that have resulted in credit upgrades to the state. Now is the time to take a data driven look at our revenue structure and have deep discussions on priorities and outlook for our state. We must ensure that we achieve the revenue increase in a way that does not further burden the working middle class.
Although I believe these are multi-year discussions and negotiations, it’s time to set our priorities and develop a multi-year plan on achieving the necessary revenue goals to deliver the state government services that meet our local communities’ needs such as increased funding to our public schools, and a return of local government distributive fund (LGDF) dollars to our municipal governments. Increases in funding to public schools and municipalities means lower property taxes to our residents.
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 am a cosponsor to the framework contained in HB 5513 (The POWER Act ), which defines how data center development will take place in Illinois. The framework contains three main pieces
Prohibit shifting data center cost to consumers. Hold data centers accountable for their own energy needs and pay their fair share.
Establish critical protection to limit pollution.
Establish sustainable water use, transparent reporting and consumer protection requirements to ensure water resources are used responsibly.
This bill is important for the protection of our environment and will bring a consistent framework for data center development and operations throughout the state. Currently, there are no guardrails on data center development, which is not only dangerous, but inconsistent with the views of the vast majority of Illinoisans of all political leanings.
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 is a target of the Trump administration for a variety of reasons.
Across the country, ICE has acted with anonymity, brutality and malice against our communities. The federal government has brutally killed people, and has acted with no concern for the rule of law or accountability of its officers.
Being a sanctuary state means our state government limits state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. We have restrictions on information sharing. Local law enforcement cannot assist a federal agent in their duties. Federal agents cannot use public property to detain individuals.
Illinois should continue to be a state with a concern for its residents, follow the rule of law, and act with a sense of humanity. This includes upholding our sanctuary policies.
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?
The General Assembly is a workplace and should adhere to workplace protections as stated in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. There should be policies that guide practice and process on the norms and expected behaviors. These should be developed, discussed and reviewed with all who are part of the capitol workforce; elected officials, staff and associates. The recent allegations of sexual harassment are evidence that we do not have the necessary processes in place to comply with the law. Allegations should always be investigated, no victim should be ignored, and victims must feel safe coming forward without fear of retaliation. If I learn of any misconduct, I will follow the stated process and report the situation to the appropriate office/person as stated in the policy/process.
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?
Quite simply, no. Based on the current issues we have been seeing, it is clear that our policies need work.
The recent actions of the Legislative Inspector General have been disturbing, and it’s appropriate that he has resigned. It is my hope that the new LIG, members of the General Assembly, and staff take a serious look at our policies and procedures. As I said in the previous question, the General Assembly is a workplace. We need to comply with civil rights laws and protect workers. I am committed to using my human resources background to help develop these processes in conjunction with staff and other legislators.
What personal qualifications do you bring that would make you an effective legislator?
I bring a variety of experience, including a decades-long corporate career, followed by a decade as a school board member, including as board President. What has made me effective in all of these roles is my ability to listen, learn and ask questions, while consistently coming to the table in good faith. I also bring dedication to civic engagement and voter education. As a longtime member and former president of our local league of women voters, I have a deep appreciation for the democratic process, and a willingness to learn about issues facing our society.