Michelle Mussman: 2026 candidate Illinois House District 56

Bio

Office sought: Illinois House District 56

Party: Democrat

City: Schaumburg

Age: 54

Previous offices held:

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?

State Budget: The state needs to be able to meet our statutory responsibilities and then address priority areas of funding that we know have the strongest impact for our residents and businesses, including education and healthcare. We need to be vigilant about monitoring the success of programs considered for continued reinvestment, cautious about investment in new ideas, and also modernize our regressive tax structure.

Reevaluation of EBF formula; The state took bold action to completely overhaul our school funding formula to address a chronic lack of equity and adequacy. At the 10 year anniversary, it is time to consider how it has worked, and how we may choose to adjust the formula, or our funding goals to better address our current needs. Loss of Medicaid and Medicare funding from the Federal Government; The state will lose Billions of dollars over the next ten years, if nothing changes at the federal level. The state cannot realistically make up the difference and must fight to preserve funds we believe we are legally entitled to, and help our residents retain access to healthcare, housing, food, and quality of life in every way we have the financial means to.

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 think the GA, between the House and Senate, have presented numerous and varied proposals for the Bears to look through and a la cart highlight items they found helpful, or suggest needs they felt were unaddressed. I think the negotiators tried to find ways to ensure the entire state, and other large scale projects, could benefit from a proposal, while also considering policy more narrow in scope. The Bears need to be serious about coming to the table and staying at the table until a compromise is achieved. I personally think their family has been divided over the issue and they are hoping by pitting two states against each other, one of us will break and offer them a deal that makes their choice easy. I think the GA has demonstrated we are unwilling to expose our taxpayers to a poor return on investment, just to save face and keep the Bears in Illinois. I think we should continue to keep our residents top of mind, and make sure this is a solid economic plan that people in Chicago, downstate, and closely impacted in our suburbs, can feel was reasonable and do not regret a few years into the future, when the Bears are not having a winning season.

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?

I think the results of the SAFE-T Act are similar to what was predicted. There has not been a widespread spike in violent crime and court appearances have generally held steady. It was intended to ensure that low-income defendants accused of minor, or non-violent offenses, are not unnecessarily incarcerated simply because they cannot afford bond. Data indicates even short periods inside jail can result in job loss, housing instability, and disruption to family relationships, with long lasting impacts on the mental and physical health of individuals and especially their children. This law was important to many victims rights groups, especially in the Domestic Violence sector, to prevent individuals from paying their way out and seeking revenge on those who had accused them. Cash bond did not protect us from violent criminals buying themselves free. Bond rates were frequently inequitably applied and disrupted normal due-process proceedings, incentivizing people to plead guilty to crimes they may not be guilty of in order to speed up the process. I am open to a dialogue about what changes may be considered, including evaluation of the list of non-detainable offences.

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?

The biggest portion of a property tax bill is school funding. The state needs to prioritize directing more money into school funding, to help alleviate a local school's NEED to squeeze property taxes just to meet their base minimum requirements. The state would need around $4.5 Billion dollars to address that shortfall though, which we are not realistically able to achieve rapidly, especially while addressing the numerous ways the federal government is creating to send even less money to ours and other states, through cuts to all manner of healthcare programs and disruption to other existing grants, etc. Inflation since COVID has caused numerous costs to rise, so for taxing bodies attempting to just stand still, it has become more expensive, increasing pressure on tax levies just to keep their heads above water. Also, when the state has become an unreliable financial partner, as we have attempted to cut back on various forms of spending, many local taxing bodies have asked for and passed referendums, meaning the voters are CHOOSING to impose a higher tax on themselves, to ensure their local body has the resources to provide services the voters have indicated are important to them.

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?

The state needs to pass comprehensive legislation creating base rules for using closed loop cooling systems to address heavy water usage, create rules for how centers contract for independent energy resources, how they site buildings, and how they mitigate potential noise, vibration, or air pollution. Centers should be transparent about their governmental agreements and pay an appropriate share of power costs and property taxes. The state should codify best practices to prevent bad actors from taking advantage of communities not familiar with how they may differ from other industries and how to properly zone and regulate them on their own. I believe we can learn from the mistakes seen in the development of older model data centers and problems identified in other states, to address many of the concerns residents have been reading about in the news. The GA has begun discussions in the POWER Act and needs to continue active negotiation with the stakeholders to finalize a bill.

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?

There is a great deal of misinformation and mischaracterization of what “sanctuary” laws do or mean, that has proliferated across all forms of media. It has fostered fear and distrust of our immigrant neighbors, the vast majority of whom did arrive following some form of legal pathway, only to have the federal government dawdle, delay, or change the rules on their paperwork, their court cases, their asylum, etc., after they had already arrived. Immigrants are not citizens before they arrive and it can take decades to achieve citizenship. They can be here legally and still not be citizens, which has become very confusing for people to reconcile. Sanctuary laws do not prevent people from being charged with crimes, ticketed, arrested, or having to serve time. Immigrants afraid their paperwork status will come into question, even when not pertinent to the problem at hand, are afraid to report crimes or act as witnesses to crimes. It ultimately makes all of us less safe and allows criminals greater freedom to operate, which none of us wants. Immigrants are statistically less likely to commit crimes than natural born citizens, as they do not want to jeopardize their ability to stay.

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?

Sexual harassment is sadly pervasive in every place and workspace. Culturally I think we still struggle with how to identify intention, feel comfortable calling it out in the moment, or report it, allowing it to fester, allowing toxic norms to perpetuate. The GA can continue to do more to ensure there is a strong and effective Legislative Inspector General, but also better training, and reporting pathways for all state staff, as well as those in other work place environments. We all have a role to play in not perpetuating habits that have been the norm for too long, and to not role model those types of comments, jokes, “compliments” etc. for our children. We all know when something makes us feel uncomfortable, whether directed at ourselves or another. The real problem is doing something about it. Many are not comfortable with confrontation, or of risking being part of a long, intrusive legal investigation, or of not being believed, having their own character or motivation called into question instead, discouraging people from taking action. Legislation will long struggle to address the human part of the equation, but we should perpetually strive to update and refine our statutes.

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?

Policies can and should be on a perpetual cycle of revue and renewal, especially as technology evolves and new ways of unethical behavior are revealed and need to be addressed. The state has created many ethics laws over the years, but the public should never be complacent. They should not believe that they are indefinitely, sufficient and complete as currently written, or believe that laws on paper are by themselves enough to prevent bad characters from acting poorly. They should always hold us accountable and to the highest standards. They place a great deal of trust in us. The GA should strengthen the tools of the Legislative Inspector General and update ethics training to be more inclusive of the kind of ethical quandaries that can and do more uniquely confront elected officials in their role in government and also campaigning.

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

I have a deep, personal commitment and connection to the people and community I serve. I want to see them live their best lives. I work hard to do this job well, to be visible and accessible in formal and informal community activities. My office prioritizes being reliable when people call and ask for our help. We host numerous public service programs and town halls throughout the year and around the district and participate in programs hosted by others. We consistently post important community resources on social media and in electronic newsletters. My staff and I are active participants on numerous local boards and community collaborations. I take time to listen to multiple sides of an issue and am slow to rush to judgement. I ask a lot of questions. I work hard to bring all stakeholders to the table and stick with an issue until it is resolved, through legislation, or otherwise. I try to be open and direct in communicating with others. I am passionate and eager to solve the next problem that comes up, no matter how big or how small.