Danielle Penman: 2026 candidate for Illinois Senate District 33

Bio

Office sought: Senate District 33

Party: Republican

City: St. Charles

Age: 49

Previous offices held: NA

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 biggest challenge facing Illinois over the next four years is affordability, particularly when it comes to property taxes, energy costs, and healthcare.

Property taxes are a good place to start. I support increasing the homeowner exemption and making sure it keeps pace with rising costs. But we also need to address what is driving those bills higher. When Springfield passes requirements that local schools and governments must pay for without providing funding, that cost eventually falls on taxpayers.

Rising utility bills are also putting pressure on families. Illinois is taking reliable power off the grid before we have enough electricity to replace it. Less supply as demand grows means higher costs. We should keep reliable plants operating when needed while making it easier to build new sources of power.

As a nurse, healthcare affordability is especially important to me. Families deserve quality care they can afford. I will work to lower insurance and prescription drug costs, protect coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, and make sure we have enough healthcare professionals to care for patients across the state.

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 would like to see the Bears stay in Illinois. They have been part of this state for more than a century, and I don’t think we should be in a position where they are seriously considering moving across state lines.

But wanting them to stay doesn’t mean taxpayers should be expected to buy a stadium for a multibillion-dollar organization. The Bears should be responsible for financing the stadium itself.

The state should be working with Arlington Heights on roads and infrastructure needed to support a development of this size and helping create a fair and predictable tax environment that gives everyone some certainty going forward.

I think state leaders should have been working toward an agreement sooner. There is room for a responsible deal that protects taxpayers while giving the Bears good reasons to remain in Illinois for another hundred years.

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?

Public safety policy has to balance two responsibilities: protecting people’s constitutional rights and protecting our communities from individuals who present a serious danger. I believe Illinois needs to revisit portions of the SAFE-T Act to make sure judges have meaningful discretion when making release decisions. That includes considering someone’s criminal history, the charges they are facing, whether they have violated previous conditions of release and the danger they may pose to the community.

I support restoring cash bail and stronger consequences for repeat offenders and for individuals who commit new crimes or repeatedly violate the terms of their release. But public safety is bigger than any single law. Police departments are also struggling to recruit and retain officers. We need to make sure law enforcement has the staffing, training and resources necessary to do an increasingly difficult job, including responding appropriately to people experiencing mental health crises.

People deserve to feel safe in their homes, neighborhoods and communities, and our laws should give law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges the tools they need to help make that possible.

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?

When I talk to homeowners, property taxes come up repeatedly. People are doing everything right, working, saving, and taking care of their homes, and yet they can feel like the cost of simply staying in that home keeps climbing.

I support increasing the homeowner exemption and making sure it grows with inflation, so its value doesn't slowly disappear as costs rise. That would provide homeowners with meaningful relief on their property tax bills.

But tax relief only works if we also address what's driving those bills higher. Springfield has to stop handing local governments and school districts new responsibilities without giving them the money to pay for them. If the state believes something is important enough to require, then the state should be willing to fund it within its budget.

We need to give homeowners relief today while also addressing the costs that continue pushing property taxes higher. That is how we begin bringing down the burden on Illinois families.

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?

Data centers can bring significant private investment to Illinois, but they can also place enormous demands on electricity, water, and local infrastructure. Before a project moves forward, communities should know what those demands will be, what improvements will be needed, and who will pay for them.

The state has a role in setting basic standards, particularly when it comes to transparency and making sure communities understand the impact of a proposed development.

I believe the people who live in a community should have a meaningful say in whether a project makes sense for them. Local officials understand their roads, neighborhoods, water systems, and infrastructure in a way Springfield cannot. A data center may make sense in one community and be wrong for another.

My position is simple: families shouldn't see their utility bills or property taxes go up because a major private development came to town. Developers should be upfront about their needs and responsible for the costs their projects create. The state should make sure those standards are met, but it shouldn't dictate every zoning and siting decision. I trust communities to know what is right for them.

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?

Immigration is one of those issues where I think we’ve lost too much of the human conversation. We need to enforce our laws and protect our communities, but we also need to remember that the decisions government makes affect real people and real families.

I believe federal immigration laws should be enforced and Illinois should not prevent federal authorities from carrying out their lawful responsibilities. If someone is in this country illegally and commits a serious crime, they should not simply be released back onto the street.

That doesn’t mean we lose sight of how people are treated. Immigration enforcement should be orderly and humane. People should be treated with dignity and keeping families together should be an important consideration throughout the process.

I think we can enforce the law, keep our communities safe and still treat people with humanity. That’s the balance I would work toward.

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 recent allegations of sexual harassment against Springfield legislators should be taken seriously. No one should have to tolerate harassment because of where they work or worry that speaking up could jeopardize their career.

Illinois has had too many situations that have left people questioning whether complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct are truly being taken seriously and whether lawmakers are being held accountable. I would like to see the Legislative Inspector General have greater independence and authority, to establish clearer timelines for investigations and provide greater transparency once investigations are completed while still protecting victims and confidential information.

This shouldn’t be complicated. No one should be subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace, and the same rules should apply regardless of someone’s title, political party or who they know.

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?

Public service is a position of trust, and too often Springfield insiders have taken advantage of that trust. The same political relationships that help people gain power can also protect them once in office, creating opportunities to benefit from public office.

I am a first-time candidate and political outsider. I know the system needs reform. It starts with giving the Legislative Inspector General independence and authority so serious complaints are handled fairly, not buried because of politics.

We also need stronger tools to investigate corruption so investigators can follow the evidence without political red tape. We also need to close the revolving door that allows politicians to leave office and cash in as lobbyists.

Elected officials should not treat public office as a wealth-building tool. Lawmakers have access to information ordinary families do not. Banning legislators from trading individual stocks while in office helps ensure financial interests do not influence their decisions.

People deserve confidence their leaders are fighting for them, not political insiders. Changing that culture requires accountability and leaders willing to challenge the status quo.

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

For nearly 30 years, I have worked as a labor and delivery nurse and healthcare leader. I have managed people and budgets and made difficult decisions. Those experiences have prepared me for this job, but what really makes me qualified is what I have learned from the people I have served.

I have cared for families during some of their happiest moments and stood beside them during some of their hardest. Those experiences taught me the importance of listening. When someone is scared or grieving, you cannot assume you know what they need. You have to hear them and understand what they are experiencing.

My work has also taught me about leadership. When I saw grieving families needed better support, I helped develop a new approach to bereavement care at my hospital. That work became a model across our hospital system, where I helped develop standards for families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss and now help lead our Perinatal Bereavement Council.

Leadership starts with listening, but what you do afterward matters. If elected, I will bring that mindset to Springfield: listen to the people I represent, learn from their experiences and do the work to make things better.