Endorsement: Ness in Illinois House District 66

Voters in Illinois House District 66 will decide a rematch between Democratic state Rep. Suzanne Ness and Republican challenger Laurie Parman, a race captured by Ness with about 53.3% of the vote in 2024.

We endorsed Ness in that contest, and see no reason to change our recommendation two years later.

Ness, 57 and a former McHenry County Board member from Carpentersville, has distinguished herself as an advocate for the state’s disabled residents and those living in nursing homes, and she’s taken a key role in a working group formed to address unacceptable instances of sexual harassment in state government. We won’t agree with her on everything, but she’s proven to be an active and effective lawmaker.

Parman, 71, spent three decades as a grade school educator and certainly could bring some valuable insight from the classroom to the Capitol. However, we’re less enamored by her willingness to welcome federal immigration authorities to polling places and her touting of an endorsement from an organization that opposes school vaccine mandates and wants to ban fluoride in drinking water.

We endorse Ness.